America's Witch
by Nakira.Taisho
Summary: EDITED Ch. 0-18! A Witch, raised as a Muggle. And to top it off, she's a Dumbledore! What's a girl to do when she's thrown into a totally different world? Harry Vs. Draco...ON HIATUS
1. Info

**America's Witch 0- Info**

Ambellina Dumbledore is eleven years old, and your average American girl. She has an iPod, and listens to a lot of various artists. She loves to read, mostly science fiction and fantasy genres, and some non-fiction. Text books are the only non-fiction books she doesn't like reading or books that are arranged like a text book. She loves to play video games, like _Kingdom Hearts_ and _Final Fantasy_, and read Manga.

She wears a Goth style, black with other colors mixed in, complete with combat boots. She also wears her waist length, honey blond curls held back, for the most part, her bangs are flipped across her forehead, by a striped headband in black and whatever other color she's wearing that day, with a large bow on the side in the contrast color with black trim. She wears a large amount of jewelry, a pair of sapphire earrings, a Full-Metal Alchemist necklace, and five Naruto necklaces, each with a different character on it, a Byakuya necklace, a Sesshoumaru necklace, and a Vampire Knight bracelet with a Kaname figure on it. Her favorite characters in Naruto are Neji, Sasuke, Itachi, Naruto and Kakashi; she loves Akatsuki designed stuff, the red clouds on black, and Gaara merchandise. She carries a black backpack with red Akatsuki clouds on it to carry her laptop and cords, along with her digital camera, and a tan gourd shaped purse that looks like Gaara's gourd. She always goes to Comicon, and has a monthly subscription to both Shonen Jump and Shoujo Beat (La-la).

She writes fanfics and is considered pretty good, considering she's fluent in Japanese and is able to integrate the language seamlessly into her work. She also plays guitar and sings. She writes her own songs and music, and she is also pretty good at playing the cello. She has lived in locations all over America, from Dallas, Texas, then Phoenix, Arizona, then Boston, Massachusetts, and finally in New York, New York.

[Author's Note: I know that the Harry Potter books are set in the nineties, and a lot of the references to manga series and certain books, are from recent. Well, I'm modernizing the series to fit the personality I came up with for Ambellina. This is actually about the same as my main personality. Everyone knows that I have a light-well, not really light, but it's not like dangerous or anything-multiple personality syndrome. Literally every one of the main characters of my stories, the main protagonist that is (like Ambellina), is an embodiment of one of my other personalities, minus the different names. Not all of them have actually told me their names…anyways! Please enjoy this story. And also, all of my Harry Potter books are in storage, so I don't have them for reference, and I don't do the movies, because I think they suck, so if I get certain details of the story wrong, pardon me. I remember the major details, so they'll be as true to the story as I can get them. And another note. I know that most people have assumed that Albus Dumbledore is gay. In this story, he is perfectly straight! Yes, I am making artistic changes here. If you don't like it, then read some other story. Any reviews complaining about the homosexual situation will be reported as abuse. You have been warned.]


	2. The Mystery Conversation

**America's Witch 1- The Mystery Conversation**

"She has a choice of going to Hogwarts or USAW."

"Hogwarts is where you went to school right?"

"Yes, and you went to USAW."

"I think she'll like it better at Hogwarts. USAW has so much violence. It's like a Muggle school almost."

"Then I'll send an Owl to Grandfather then. He's already said that he'd accept her into the school if I requested it." What are my parents talking about? School, I can tell that much. It's late. I think they think that I'm asleep already. But I never go to bed before midnight on the night before my birthday. And I'm turning eleven tomorrow.

It's the end of June; my birthday is the first of July. I'm about to go into middle school. Sixth grade. Just thinking about that makes me nervous, because it's a whole new school. We had to move at the tail end of the school year, just after I graduated from Elementary school, because of Mom's job. She's a doctor, and she got offered a better paying job in New York. We were living in Boston before; we were there for three years. And before that we lived in Phoenix, Arizona. I don't remember where we were before that. And I know that I was born in Dallas, Texas.

My dad has a British accent, because he grew up in Surrey. Wherever that is, somewhere in the UK, I think. I guess Hogwarts is a boarding school that he went to. And USAW, that could be a school that Mom went to, but what are Muggles? It's about as strange as my last name. Dumbledore. The world's strangest last name, well the strangest one that I've come across.

"If she hadn't shown the signs, I would have liked for her to be able to live a normal life."

"She _has_ lived a normal life, as normal as we can give her. But at some point, everyone has to learn the truth." Truth?

"I know…I'm worried about her reaction though."

"Well, she _is_ very into learning about the supernatural and such. She'll be fine. I'm sure." It's so easy to pick out my Dad's heavy accent. I hear them shuffling in the living room, getting up, and I bolt silently up the stairs and to my room, shutting the door and jumping into bed, assuming the usual sprawled position that I fall asleep in, and slow my breathing to make it look like I'm fast asleep.

The door opens and a light from the hall streams over my face. Like I would if I were asleep, I roll over and throw my arm over my face, blocking the light. The door shuts and I relax, sitting up and watching the clock. Just a few more minutes until midnight.

*Several Days Later*

"Ambellina honey. We're going to visit a friend of mine in England. We'll be there for a few weeks, until the thirtieth. So pack accordingly."

"Okay Dad." I finish eating breakfast and head up to my room. I grab my suitcases; I have two, and open the larger one to put my clothes in. Let's see, close to three weeks…I pack most of my clothes, pretty sure that part of the reason for going to England is to get me closer to that boarding school that Dad mentioned the other night when he was talking to Mom. I get the clothes packed and wrap two pairs of shoes in my favorite blanket, putting them in the suitcase as well. I zip the suitcase and put it by my door. I move on to packing my make up-yes, I wear a bit of makeup even though I'm only eleven-and hair stuff.

I then head to the bathroom and gather my shower stuff. I put everything in the smaller suitcase and start putting books in it. My favorite books. _Lord of the Rings_, _Vampire Kisses_, _Cirque Du Freak_, _Chronicles of Narnia_, half of my Manga collection-including Vampire Knight Volumes 1-5, Naruto volumes 1-12, Bleach volumes 1-13, and Full-Metal Alchemist volumes 1-6-and a compilation of Grimm's Fairy Tales. I zip that suitcase and put it with the other. I then proceed to pack my laptop and cords in my backpack. I also grab my guitar case and put it by the door.

"Ambellina! Can you come down here please?"

"Coming!" I leave the room and head down to the living room. "Yes?"

"Sit down. We need to talk to you." I sit on the couch, wary of my parents' expressions. Mom looks troubled, but Dad looks completely confident.

"Part of the reason we're going to England is that I've gotten you enrolled in a boarding school there. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." I frown.

"You're kidding right? Witchcraft and Wizardry? That's only something from books. Fiction, Dad."

"Then perhaps, this will prove it to you." Mom pulls out a stick, about as long as my forearm and pitch black, and smiles. "_Wingardium Leviosa_." She flicks the stick and I look in the direction the stick is pointing. A vase is floating in the air, about a foot above the table it was sitting on. I stare at the vase, open mouthed. It lowers back down to the table and I look back at Mom.

"How did…?"

"Magic. That's what you'll be studying at Hogwarts. Magic, how to do more than just lift things into the air. I've got work to do, so I'll just be dropping you off at the airport. A friend of mine, Arthur Weasley, will be there to pick you up."

"When are we leaving?"

"This afternoon. The flight leaves at four."

"Anything else you'd like to tell me? Dad, can you do stuff like that too?"

"Of course. Considering my grandfather is the headmaster at Hogwarts. Professor Albus Dumbledore." I stare at Dad. "I graduated from Hogwarts, Gryffindor House, top of my class, I was Head Boy, got top grades on my tests and I'm also a reporter for the Daily Prophet, well, the international version of it. Anyways, are you packed?" I nod. "Great! We'll head to the Airport at three, catch a snack and be off." Obviously, they're finished with their talking, so I get up and head up to my room. A witch? I'm a witch? I can't wrap my head around that. I glance over at the bird cage in the corner of my room.

"Oh, I need to clean your cage, don't I, Rini?" The little owl tilts her head slightly and I sigh. I get in my desk and pull out a liner for her cage. I quickly change the liners and carry the messy one to the kitchen trash. I head back up to my room and sit at my vanity table.

I put a headband on, red and black striped with a large red bow on the side, to match my red and black outfit. A corset dress with a red and black plaid bit in the front, a red and black, long sleeved, plaid shirt under the dress, and red and black striped leggings. I put on my necklaces as well.

I flip my curly hair out from under the necklaces and put on my combat boots. I glance at the clock and nod to myself. I have a bit more time, it's only Two thirty. I grab my favorite bracelet and put it on. I grab my Akatsuki designed backpack and shoulder it, nodding at the weight of my laptop, the power cord for it, my digital camera and its cord, the headphones, my iPod and its cord and mini charger, and the travel adapter for my power cords. Next, I grab my gourd shaped, Gaara purse and put it on my shoulder. I grab my suitcases and carry them to the foyer of our large house.

"Are you bringing Rini?" I nod and put my bags by the door. I head back up to my room and grab Rini's cage. I also grab the cage liners from the drawer in my desk and head down to the foyer. I turn my small suitcase on the side and put the liners in it before zipping it back up and going back to my room for my guitar. I _never_ travel without my guitar. I scratch my ear absently and realize that I forgot to put on my earrings. I hurry back to my room, my legs burning from all the going up and down the stairs, and put in my favorite sapphire earrings.

"Ambellina! Time to leave!"

"Coming!" I run downstairs and Dad helps me get my stuff out to the car.


	3. The Weasleys

**America's Witch 2- The Weasleys**

"You look like a lunatic, you know that?"

"Dad, just because you don't understand the thing about manga and such, doesn't mean that I look like a lunatic to anyone but you." But, looking around this airport, I feel like a lunatic. Absolutely no one is wearing any color but white or tan! It's crazy. Suddenly, Dad starts waving and I spot a flash of red hair along with a hand returning the wave. A guy, tall and thin, with red hair, wearing wire rimmed glasses, walks through a crowd to shake hands with Dad.

"Is this your girl?"

"Yea. Arthur, this is Ambellina. Ambellina, this is Arthur Weasley." I smile at him.

"Nice to meet you."

"So, you sending her off to Hogwarts?"

"Of course. Your boys gonna show her the ropes?"

"Yea, but don't count on Fred and George. Oh, Molly's here too."

"Great! I've got until the next flight leaves. Work to do, you know." A stocky woman hurries over.

"There you are. It's great to see you again, Matt. Is this your daughter?"

"Yep."

"You've got your mum's eyes, so pretty. I'm Molly Weasley."

"Ambellina." Light reflects off of my necklaces and it draws Arthur's attention.

"What are these on your necklaces?"

"My favorite Manga characters."

"Manga?"

"Yea, comic books. Well, Manga is from Japan. Speaking of which, Dad. I have my subscription to Shonen Jump and La-la."

"I'll send them by owl to the school."

"And this month's?"

"To the Burrow, of course." I nod slightly, in relief. Dad glances over at the Luggage wheel and hurries over to retrieve my bags. I already have my backpack, purse, and Rini with me, because I carried those on the plane. Dad gets back and I realize that Arthur had been rambling about something or other the entire time. Dad notices the time and sighs. "Well, I've got to get going before I miss the plane. Send me an owl, okay?"

"Um…sure." Molly looks pointedly at Arthur and he stops rambling and muttering to walk with Dad to the line.

"Come with me dear." I walk with Molly out of the airport and blink at the lack of light. Wow. London is really dark. She walks over to an old Ford Anguilla, and opens the trunk. She loads all of my bags into the trunk and opens the back door. I climb in automatically, setting Rini in the seat beside me. The trunk shuts, shaking the car, and Molly gets into the front seat. Arthur comes out shortly and gets in the driver's seat.

"So, this 'Manga', what is it? I mean the purpose of it." I shrug slightly, not understanding why he's so curious. Everyone knows what comics are…right?

"For entertainment, the same as any book or show. A lot of Manga have cartoon adaptations called Anime. Though I prefer to read the Manga."

"I apologize in advance. The house is rather crowded. You'll have to share a room with our daughter Ginny." I nod slightly to Molly.

"Anyways. So, is Manga entirely pictures?" I turn my attention back to Arthur and nod.

"I have quite a few volumes in my bag. You can take a look at it when we get to your house. Um, speaking of which. Where do you guys live?"

"Outside Ottery St. Catchpole." I stare at Molly.

"Isn't that…a bit far away?" Molly and Arthur both laugh slightly.

"Yes." I settle in for a long ride and gasp when the car suddenly tilts upward and lurches. I look out the window and gasp when I see the ground getting farther away from us.

"The car…is flying?"

"Yes. It's not that surprising, is it?" I stare at Arthur.

"Yes. It is quite surprising."

"Oh. I suppose I should go ahead and give this to you, Ambellina." Arthur reaches back, holding a key out to me. I take it and examine it curiously. "A key to your father's vault in Gringott's."

"Gringott's?" The car is very unsteady and it's making me slightly sick. I push back nausea.

"The Wizard Bank, of course." My head hurts. Too much information to absorb in two days, combined with the shakiness of the car's flying.

We land and I look around, my eyes resting on a ramshackle, tower of a house. We get out and Molly and Arthur both get my stuff out of the trunk, not letting me take any of it myself. I follow them to the house and look around inside. A long table crowds the kitchen, and I can hear something upstairs. Running. I recognize the sound now.

It's as though the house is shaking. Several guys, all with shocking red hair, thunder into the room. They stare at me in wonder. I can almost tell which ones are older. A tall boy, close to the same height as Arthur, he's probably the oldest here, a pair of identical boys, short and stocky like their mother, they're identical down to the sprinkling of freckles on their faces, they're probably second oldest, and then the last one, tall and lanky, he's probably about my age. A girl, again with red hair, about a year younger than me probably, pokes her head into the room.

"Okay guys. This is Ambellina Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore? Are you related to Professor Dumbledore then?" The oldest.

"The headmaster at Hogwarts?" All three older boys nod.

"Yea."

"Yes. He's my great grandfather." The oldest one nods slightly.

"Cool. I'm Percy, by the way. Welcome."

"I'm Fred." The first twin smiles mischievously as he says that…he's probably a prankster.

"George." That's the second twin…the same as his brother.

"Ron." Yea, he's definitely my age. His voice hasn't even started to change yet!

"And she's Ginny." The girl waves shyly and I smile at her.

"Ambellina, about that Manga…" Arthur clears his throat and I turn to him.

"Oh." I take the smaller of my suitcases and get on my knees, unzipping it and pulling out volume one of Vampire Knight. Arthur takes it and examines it. I sigh and pull the book gently out of his hands, turning it over. "You read it from right to left." I crouch down and zip the bag again.

"Fascinating!" I roll my eyes, almost at the same time as everyone else in the room.

"Um, where can I take my stuff?" I address Molly and she smiles.

"Gin. Can you show Ambellina up to your room?"

"Sure." I grab my stuff and squeeze through the crowded room to the stairs.

"You want some help?" Ron looks over at my guitar and Rini; I only have enough hands to carry the two suitcases, along with my backpack and purse, which are on my back and shoulder.

"Um, sure." He grabs the guitar and Rini. I follow Ginny up the stairs, with Ron trailing behind.

"So, you're going to Hogwarts this term?"

"Yea…"

"That's cool. So am I. My brothers already go." We stop in front of a door and then go into a small room. I put my stuff in a corner of the room and Ron puts Rini on top of a desk, and my guitar in the corner with my stuff.

"What's in the case anyways?" I frown and pull the guitar out of the case. "Oh."

"Wow, I've never seen a guitar in person." I raise an eyebrow. It's not really that surprising, but I grew up having access to some really nice music stores that anyone and everyone went into. I'm not really used to anyone not having at least seen a guitar in person.

"You play?"

"Of course. At my last school, a couple of friends and I had a little band. We played at the middle school's homecoming dance last fall. I do lead vocals and guitar." Looks of confusion. What was confusing about that?

"Homecoming dance?" Really? They've never heard of homecoming? It's one of the biggest deals I've ever seen. Even though the stupid sport is pointless and so is all of the excitement over it.

"Yea, it's a dance that's held in the fall to celebrate the last home game of the season."

"Like Quidditch?" Now I'm confused.

"Quidditch? What's that?" Obviously it's a sport of some sort…but I've never heard of it.

"You don't know what Quidditch is? And you're a witch!" Stereotype much?

"Considering I only barely found out that I'm a witch…" That fact is slightly embarrassing in this situation, but it probably won't be the last embarrassing situation for me…it's certainly not the first.

"What? But, your dad's a Wizard right?" I nod slightly.

"I just barely found _that_ out too." Ron stares at me open mouthed.

"Wow. So your dad didn't tell you anything?" I nod again.

"Until right before we got on the plane to come here, the lunatic." Ginny is staring at my bracelet.

"That's a really nice bracelet." I smile at her.

"Thanks. I got it at Comicon a few years ago." Again, they're confused.

"Comicon?" I sigh.

"It's short for Comic Convention. A bunch of people get together and dress up like characters in Manga and Anime, exchange books and stuff. There are even writers and Mangaka that go to certain ones. And you can get spoilers for new books and previews for new movies and shows from all over the world. They even have video game spoilers. Like last year, I got to actually meet Masashi Kishimoto at a Comicon in Tokyo. This bracelet, though, is from Vampire Knight, the book that I showed your dad. And the character here-" I touch the little Kaname figure on the bracelet. "-is one of the main characters in that series."

"What about the stuff on your necklaces?"

"Oh, they're from other series, Full-Metal Alchemist, Naruto, and Bleach."

"Okay…" I can tell that they're confused…still.

"You act like such a Muggle." That word again.

"What does that mean?"

"It means not a Witch." I raise an eyebrow at that.

"I can't help that. I did, after all, grow up not knowing that my parents were a witch and wizard." This astonishes them.

"Your mom too? Did she go to Hogwarts?" I shrug.

"No…I don't think so. I heard her talking about some place called USAW, but I don't know what it is."

"United States Academy for Witches. It's an all girls' school for Witches in America."

"Oh." That makes sense.


	4. Diagon Alley

**America's Witch 3- Diagon Alley**

"Okay, our first stop is to the bank, so Ambellina can get some money to buy her supplies." I dig in my purse to check for that key and pause.

"Hold on. We're not riding in the car…are we?" Percy laughs slightly.

"Of course not. We're going by Floo."

"Floo?" Molly nods and looks at Ron.

"Of course. Here, Ron, show her how it's done." He nods slowly.

"Okay." Ron grabs a small handful of green powder from the bucket by the fireplace and steps into the space. He throws the powder down. "Diagon Alley." In a flare of green flames, he disappears. I gasp in shock.

"You next Percy." He does the same as Ron and disappears in the green flame. Fred and George go next and Molly pushes me into the fireplace. I take a handful of the powder and throw it on the ground at my feet.

"Diagon Alley." The front room of the Burrow streaks into blackness and then is replaced with a bank lobby. The boys are waiting around. I step out of the fireplace quickly and look around. All of the clerks are little short guys with long faces and large pointed ears. They remind me of a description of a goblin.

"Gringott's Goblins. Interesting bunch huh?" I jump slightly—I wasn't expecting to hear Ron's voice right behind me.

"I guess." Molly, then Ginny, and then Arthur, come out of the fireplace and we all head up to a tall desk. The goblin behind it eyes Arthur scrupulously.

"Here to make a withdrawal. From Matthew Dumbledore's account."

"And who is the authorized party?" Molly nudges me, pushing me forward a step.

"He's talking about you. You're the one with the key."

"Oh. Um, I am." The goblin examines me and leans over the desk to look at me closer.

"Name?"

"Ambellina Dumbledore." He nods and backs up to look at something on the desk again.

"And your key?" I fish it out of my purse and hold it up. The goblin nods and in a moment, another goblin shows up. "The small Dumbledore Vault." The other one nods and scurries off. Arthur pulls me after him, leaving the others in the lobby. We get on a cart with the goblin and it zooms through a bunch of underground tunnels, I think designed to make anyone that tries to break in get totally lost on their way out, or even in.

We stop. "Vault number 825." We get out and walk up to the door of the vault. "Key." I hand the key to the goblin and he puts it in a hole, turning it to make a series of locks click at once, and the door swings open. I stare inside it, gaping at the amount of gold in the room behind the door.

"Um…" Arthur laughs slightly.

"I'll help a bit." Arthur helps me get the approximate amount of money I'll need for supplies and then extra for later on. When we finish, the goblin shuts and locks the door, handing me back the key. I put it in my purse, along with the money, and we all get back in the little cart. We zoom back up to the main level and leave from the lobby, Arthur tipping his head in silent greeting to a large man with grizzly, greasy black hair and beady black eyes.

The man nods in return and I notice a boy with him. We get outside before I can say anything. "Okay, you have your list? I have to go help Molly with the boys, so you're on your own." I nod.

"I've done plenty of shopping on my own. Don't worry." He nods and hurries off. Let's see…the first thing on the list is a wand. I look around and spot a little store with a sign over it reading 'Ollivander's Fine Wands'. I go to that store first, a bell rings as the door opens, and a gray haired man looks around a shelf unit.

"You looking for a wand?" I nod.

"Yes, I am…"

"Just a second." Sliding as boxes are moved, and he comes out to stand behind the counter, holding a box.

"Your name?"

"Ambellina Dumbledore." He smiles slightly.

"Matthew's daughter?" I nod slowly. "I remember selling your father his wand. Twelve inch birch with a unicorn hair core. Here. Try this wand." He opens the box, revealing a long stick, cherry red. "Eleven inch Cherry with a Dragon Heartstring Core. Go ahead. The wand chooses its master." I gingerly pick the wand up from the box.

It feels oddly warm, but nothing happens. "Try flicking it." I do, mimicking Mom's move with her wand. A crystal ball on a shelf rises slightly in response, it's the thing I happened to be pointing at with the wand, and then lowers back into its stand. "That's odd. First try. Haven't had that happen in a few years." I set the wand back in the box and he closes it, tapping buttons on an old fashioned cash register. "Twenty Galleons." I set my purse on the counter and count out twenty of the gold coins from the vault. Arthur explained to me the different pieces as best as he could while we were getting out the money.

I hand the coins to the man and shoulder my purse again. "That's an interesting bag you've got there. You half Muggle?"

"No. My mom is a witch as well. I just have an interest in Muggle things." He nods slightly.

"Ah. Have a nice day." I pick up the box, nod politely, and leave the store. I check my list to see what else I need and I notice the big guy from the bank, and the boy he was with. The man is hurrying off to do something and the boy is heading towards the store I just came out of. I notice a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead and head across the road to look into the windows of the store there.

A tailor? I need to get a uniform. I go inside and wait for someone to come up. I've never been to such an old fashioned store. It's strange for me. This makes me realize something. What if they don't have electricity at the school? I absently adjust my headphones; I'm listening to Coheed and Cambria on my iPod.

"What are you listening to?" I look at the girl, wild ginger hair frames her face, and she's rather pretty.

"Coheed and Cambria."

"Really? I'm not too wild about that band. I prefer Lost Prophets really." I brighten. Finally someone in this place that knows about the stuff I'm familiar with.

"Cool! I love Lost Prophets."

"I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger." I smile slightly and extend my hand.

"Ambellina Dumbledore. Nice to meet you." She shakes my hand, smiling.

"You're from America?" I nod.

"Am I that obvious?" She laughs slightly.

"Well, yes, actually. Is that an iPod that you're listening to?"

"Yea." Someone comes out and clears her throat.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, ladies. Hogwarts uniforms?" We both nod and then stare at each other.

"You're going to Hogwarts too?" I laugh once; we spoke at the same time.

"We can take care of both of you at the same time." We both nod slightly.

"Okay."

"Sure." We follow the woman to another room and Hermione examines my purse when I set it down.

"Are you…a Muggle-born?" I shake my head.

"No. Both of my parents are Wizards."

"This is a strange purse though." I smile.

"Gaara. From Naruto."

"Naruto? Oh, that really popular graphic novel. I don't care much for books like that. I prefer non-fiction. And lately, wizard histories and fairy tales." I raise an eyebrow.

"Fairy tales? I haven't heard any."

"Really?" I nod.

"I grew up normally…um…" Hermione laughs slightly and nods.

"Oh, I understand. Both of my parents are Muggles. Dentists, actually." I laugh at that.

"My mom's a doctor." Hermione nods slowly.

"What about your dad?"

"He's a Freelance Journalist. Though apparently he also does articles for the Daily Prophet." She looks surprised by that one.

"Wow. When did you find out you were a witch then?" I think of the date…it was three days after my birthday when Mom and Dad told me.

"Um, on the…third of this month." Hermione doesn't look very surprised by that one.

"Really? I found out on the first when I got an owl from Hogwarts." The women working here start with the fitting, having us try on uniforms that are approximately the right size, and then checking to see how they fit. Mine is right on the first try, but Hermione has to try on a couple more sizes before it gets right. I wait for her to finish and we both get five sets of uniforms.

"So, what other bands do you like?"

"Have you heard of Within Temptation?" I nod once, smiling broadly.

"Oh I love that group! Their stuff is a lot like Evanescence." Hermione gasps in mock surprise.

"I like that band too. Amy Lee is such a good singer." I nod quickly.

"I know. What's your favorite song by them?" She raises an eyebrow.

"Evanescence? I think I'd have to say…Tourniquet." I nod slowly now.

"Really? My favorite is Haunted." Hermione smiles as we turn a corner.

"What about Within Temptation?" I wave a hand in front of me.

"No question there. Aquarius." I look at her expectantly and she smiles broadly.

"Memories." I spot the bookstore and head that way.

"Lost Prophets?" Hermione follows my lead and I take a second to think of my favorite song by them.

"Rooftops." I gasp.

"Me too!" We go into the book store and start getting the books on our list.

"So, you have a Naruto purse. Are you a fan of that series?" I nod quickly.

"Oh yes. I love that series. I'm even a fairly popular Fan fiction writer."

"Really? Just for that series?" I grab a book from the shelf and notice the title. Interesting…I tuck it in with the other books and continue scanning titles.

"No. I've also got some stories based on Vampire Knight, Bleach, Sailor Moon, and Full-Metal Alchemist."

"Wow." We finish getting the books we need and start looking at the other books.

"_Hogwarts: A History_?" Hermione and I both grab a copy of the book and skim the back.

"Sounds interesting." I nod.

"Exactly." We both get a copy of the book and continue looking around.

"Your favorite novel?" Hermione shrugs.

"_Lord of the Rings_."

"Really? I prefer _Chronicles of Narnia_, to that series." She gasps slightly.

"Oh, I love the _Chronicles of Narnia_ series." We get into the line.

"Really? Which is your favorite in the series?"

"_The Horse and his Boy_." Hermione gets to the checkout first and pays for her books. I finish that quickly and turn.

"I like _The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe_, the best." Finally, we leave the store with our books and head to another store, to get the last of our supplies. I spot the boy from the bank in front of the broom store and walk over. I read the label.

"A Nimbus 2000?" He jumps in surprise. "Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." A racing broom? What other absurdities will they come up with? I shrug that off and face the boy. "I'm Ambellina."

"Harry."

"Nice to meet you, Harry. Are you shopping for school supplies as well?" He nods.

"Yea." I smile.

"That's cool. I'll see you around." I head to the last store and finish my shopping. I start looking for the others and spot them.

"There you are, Ambellina! Over here! We're about to leave." I hurry over, carrying my spoils.

"How much money did you get? So much stuff…"

"Ambellina, did you get a Carry-All trunk?" Huh?

"What's that?" Ginny jumps into the explanation, but Percy cuts her off.

"It's a trunk that can carry all of your stuff without a problem…you'll need it for school." Molly hands a bunch of stuff to Fred.

"Here, you all go ahead. I'll take Ambellina to get a trunk and then we'll be right along." They all nod.

"Kay." The group of guys, and Ginny, go through an arch in a wall and the bricks move back into place, creating a solid wall. I stare at it.

"That's how the entrance works. You have to have a password to get in from the other side, but it moves out of the way when you want to leave." I nod slowly and go with Molly to a store. I look around.

"Can I help you ladies?" Molly takes charge as I examine some of the trunks in here.

"Yes, do you have any Carry-All trunks in stock?" The woman who greeted us brightens.

"Yes! We have two left actually. Black or red." I decide to speak up and look at her.

"Red." Red is my favorite color.


	5. The Hogwarts Express

**America's Witch 4- The Hogwarts Express**

"Do you have everything?" I sigh and close my trunk.

"Gin, I've double checked and triple checked. I've got everything. Though I was surprised that even my guitar fit in that trunk…" Ginny laughs.

"Well, Mum _did_ say it was a Carry-All. Lucky duck." I frown.

"Why do you say that?" I open my trunk again and scan the contents. Everything looks like it's way smaller than it should be…the mind boggles.

"Because you're getting all new stuff. I'm lucky I'm the only girl." I look at the ceiling and nod slowly.

"Oh right, even Ron is stuck with Hand-me-downs. Well, that's not so bad. If my mom had her way, I'd wear her old clothes from when she was my size. But I'm too Goth for that to work." I snap the trunk closed and pull my backpack on. I check my headphones and frown. I don't want to listen to this playlist. I pull my iPod out of my pocket and flip through the playlists. I get to the one I want, my favorite Japanese music, and put the iPod back in my pocket, satisfied.

"Are you ready yet? If we don't hurry, you'll miss the train!" Thundering as the boys run down the stairs and to the kitchen with their trunks. I pick up my purse and grab the handle of my trunk.

"Let's see, got my clothes packed, my books, hair stuff, shower supplies, school books, guitar, cauldron, shoes, and Rini's food and cage liners. My laptop, cords, camera, and iPod stuff in my backpack. Money, wallet, lotion, hand sanitizer, and lipstick in my purse. Okay, I'm ready." Ginny and I leave her room and I pull my trunk down to the kitchen, while Ginny carries Rini.

We all go out to the Anguilla and I count heads. Arthur, Molly, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, and me. The Anguilla only seats five. And it definitely won't hold all five of our trunks. "Is there another car?"

"No." Arthur opens the trunk and the boys load their trunks into it. I walk over and stare at the space of the trunk. "Enchanted to hold as much as we need." I nod slowly and put my trunk in as well. We all climb into the car, by this time it really shouldn't shock me. It was a shock to see Molly washing the dishes while she sat at the table working on dinner, with four cutting boards and knives going at vegetables. She was only touching one of the knives. The back seat of the Anguilla is now a bench long enough for all six of us to sit comfortably. I slide in between the twins.

*Later*

"You lost Hon?" I glance at the person Molly just spoke to.

"Harry! Hey." He looks at me and smiles slightly.

"Oh, hello Ambellina." At this rate, I'll pick up the accent. It's actually already started. Molly looks between the two of us.

"You two already met?" I nod.

"Yea, in Diagon Alley." Molly decides to interject again and I sigh.

"You trying to get to the platform? It's right here." He stares at the column of brick warily. I shrug.

"I don't understand how it works either."

"Two at a time. Percy and Fred, first."

"I'm George, Mum." I sigh and shake my head at the usual dispute.

"George then." The two run at the column and disappear.

"Fred, you and Arthur next."

"You know Mum, I'm George."

"Oh go through already!" Arthur and George, he really is George-I've figured out which is which-go through the barrier and she nudges Harry.

"Harry, you and Ron go next. Just run through if you're nervous." The two run through and Ginny and I go next. Molly comes through last and I stare around the platform. A _lot_ of people, a lot are wearing robes, like the ones I had to get for school, and then there are so many students! All varying in height and size.

It's amazing. We walk up to the train and a few of the workers take the trolleys from us, to load the trunks and such onto the train. Ron hugs his parents and we all get on the train, well except for Ginny. Percy and the twins go to another car and Ron and I get a compartment. I put my backpack beside me on the chair.

"What's in that backpack, anyways?" I look up.

"Oh, my laptop. I've been too busy to see how it holds a charge anymore." Ron looks confused, like he does with anything concerning my interests.

"Laptop?" The door slides open.

"You have a laptop? Your parents sure like you." I look over at Harry.

"Oh, hey Harry." He smiles slightly.

"Can I sit in here? All of the other compartments are full." I shake my head.

"Not a problem." Ron nods slightly.

"Same here."

"Thanks." Harry sits by the window, beside me actually. Ron notices something and gasps, staring at the scar on Harry's forehead.

"You're…Harry Potter, right?" Harry looks up and nods slightly.

"Yes." Ron brightens exponentially and I look between them.

"Wow!" What's the big deal about Harry's last name?

"I'm confused. What's the big deal?" Ron stares at me—another thing that I'm used to along with his confusion.

"You don't know? Harry Potter is a famous figure! I mean, you're the only person that's ever survived You-Know-Who." I raise an eyebrow.

"Huh?" Harry shrugs when I look at him.

"It confuses me too. Why people just don't say Voldemort." Ron looks totally shocked. I'm still confused. Wait, no I'm not.

"Oh. I remember reading about that in my history book." Both boys stare at me like I'm an alien.

"You said you didn't like text books." I nod.

"I don't. But I got to looking through the books that I got, and they're nothing like the text books I'm used to. So it's just like reading a normal book to me. And really interesting too." Ron shakes his head slightly.

"You're so strange." I stick out my tongue at Ron and then cross my arms.

"What's in this backpack?" Harry points to my bag and I smile slightly.

"My Laptop." He nods slowly.

"Where are you from, anyways?"

"Let's see, I was born in Dallas, Texas, in the US, but I live in New York City." Harry raises an eyebrow.

"That's really far apart. Why do you live in New York?"

"My mom's a doctor, and she is a really good doctor at that, a lot of the major hospitals in America want her to work for them. We move where the best paying hospital is. Last year we lived in Boston, Massachusetts."

"So, why did you bring a laptop?" I shrug.

"Because, I'm a writer. Like my dad. I have to have my laptop handy when the inspiration hits."

"I wonder if there will be electricity at the school though." I nod slightly.

"That's exactly what I'm worried about. Because by the time we get there, my iPod will be dead. But then again, I'm surprised it hasn't died on me yet. It was a shock when I saw that you guys don't have electricity, Ron. Especially with the radio." He shrugs.

"It's powered by magic." I remember something.

"Dad didn't send my books." Harry draws my attention again by clearing his throat.

"Ambellina, do you have any pets?" Ron laughs loudly.

"She has a really annoying owl." I frown.

"Rini is not annoying. At least she's not a rat. Scabbers is disgusting." I make a gagging sound.

"You're such a girl!" I laugh.

"I am a girl, numskull."

"So, you're a writer? As in novels?" I look at Harry and nod.

"Well, I have a book that I'm working on, but it's mostly fan fictions. You know, stories based on a book or show." He nods slowly. The door slides open and I look over.

"You know, it's rude to be so loud when the walls are so thin between compartments." I glare at the group of boys standing there. A thin blond with a pointy face and two thugs.

"And it's rude to be intruding on someone's conversation." The blond boy scoffs and glances at Ron.

"Well. There's a Weasley in here, so I can understand that." I frown and stand up.

"Do you have a problem with the Weasleys?" I scoffs again and I cross my arms.

"Hand-me-downs and Muggle contraptions. Filth." I clench my hands into fists and try to resist punching him.

"Don't put a person or family into a stereotype. A person like that is worse than filth. Get going before something regrettable happens." The boy examines me and I lean back on my heels.

"And you are? I doubt that anything regrettable will happen." I smirk.

"Ambellina Dumbledore. You might want to get going before I throw you out a window." He backs out of the compartment and his goons follow. I slam the door shut and sit down.


	6. Sorted

**America's Witch 5- Sorted**

"Wow. It's so pretty." I look at the castle from our boat and scan the lake.

"You're still listening to your iPod?" I nod to Hermione. I ended up on the boat with her and two other girls.

"Yea." Hermione laughs slightly.

"What are you listening to this time?" I laugh as well.

"Um, Nana Kitade, actually."

"Who?" I smile.

"She's a really popular Japanese artist." Hermione nods slowly.

"Oh. What's the battery life on your iPod?" I shrug and think on it.

"Let's see…about fourteen hours." But I wonder about that. I haven't plugged it in since I left home, and the battery is still fully charged. I shrug it off, because we're on the other side of the lake now.

We, the first years, file into the entrance hall of the castle and I look around. A large staircase and large double doors. There's also a smaller door hidden in the corner. I wonder where it leads. I'm pretty sure the double doors lead to a very big room. A lady, wearing hunter green robes and a pointed hat, is standing in front of those doors.

"In a moment, you will enter the Great Hall and be sorted into your houses." I look around the group and notice a flash of white blond hair. What was his name…? I met him on the train. The one that insulted the Weasleys.

Oh! Draco Malfoy. Ron told me who he was after he left the compartment. The woman opens the doors and we go into the big room, it's literally a hall. Long, with four tables going down it, with a slightly raised platform at the far end, a table on it, with a group of adults, obviously the staff, sitting on the side to face the students. I look up, to see the night sky, the same as outside, with candles suspended in midair all over.

Oh right, I read about that in a book, the ceiling is enchanted. We stop in front of the platform and I notice a stool with a raggedy old hat on top of it. Suddenly, the hat starts singing. And such a strange song too. When it finishes, the woman pulls out a piece of parchment and starts calling out names to sit under the hat. About three people in, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw have gotten one new student each.

"Ambellina Dumbledore." I step forward and a murmur crosses through the room, loudest at the Gryffindor table. I sit on the stool and the hat is set on my head.

"Slytherin!" A collective gasp from the entire room, including the teachers, and an angry murmur among all of the students outside of Slytherin. I get up and walk over to the Slytherin table and sit down by myself, tucking my backpack and purse onto the floor at my feet.

"Welcome." A girl wearing a pin similar to the one Percy was showing off after everyone got their letters scoots towards me and smiles.

"Thanks…" Everyone is murmuring about this, it's rather embarrassing.

"I don't know what the big deal is, it's not like it's a set thing, what house a person gets into." I shrink into myself, though grateful for the sole positive comment.

"Draco Malfoy!" No one at this table looks up, except me. The hat isn't even barely on his head before it shouts.

"Slytherin!" He comes over and sits beside me. I ignore him, pulling my iPod out of my pocket and scrolling through the music, to put it on something else. There. Asian Kung-Fu Generation. I pocket the iPod again and wait.

"Harry Potter." Another murmur passes through the room, quite similar to when I was called. I think Hermione got sorted into Gryffindor. I didn't hear her name get called.

"Gryffindor!" Everyone at the Gryffindor table jumps up and yells excitedly. It could be considered quite comical. A few others get sorted into Slytherin, including the pair that were flanking Malfoy on the train. Crabbe and Goyle.

"Ronald Weasley."

"Gryffindor." Within seconds, the hat shouts.

"Gryffindor!" Ron relaxes. He got in the house he wanted. He goes to the table and gets pat on the back by all three of his brothers.

"So, Ambellina, are you related to Professor Dumbledore?" I look up and try to figure out who spoke. I spot the girl that welcomed me and nod.

"He's my great grandfather." Everyone near me heard that. A collective gasp comes from those nearest.

"Wow." This is going to be very awkward…I can tell right now.

"So, where are you from?" I have no idea who asked that.

"America right?" I glare at Draco for a moment. I really don't like him.

"Yes. New York City, to be precise."

"Did your parents come here?" Someone else asking the question.

"Dad did, but Mom went to USAW."

"What house was your dad in then?" The…prefect! That's what that pin means. She's a prefect.

"Um, Gryffindor." A collective groan from everyone listening.

"Damn." Huh?

"Is there something wrong with that?" The prefect shakes her head at my confusion and smiles slightly.

"No. Don't worry about it." I nod slowly, still confused.

"You play Quidditch?" Great. Another reference to a sport I know nothing about.

"No." Another collective groan.

"That sucks. You should try and see if you could be any good." I don't want to say that I don't know anything about the game, even though I don't. Ron was completely shocked, but I'm under the impression that Slytherin isn't a house that's too friendly with 'Muggles'. And since I grew up without knowing about magic, I doubt that they'll take kindly to that knowledge.

"So, do your parents work at the ministry?" Ministry? What is that?

"My dad's a reporter for the Daily Prophet."

"Really? You live in America right? So he works for the international?" I nod.

"Yea." A boy down the table glares at the group gathered around me.

"Hey, be quiet. Save the conversations for during the meal." I've never met my great grandfather. So it's a bit surprising to hear him speaking. Explaining a few things. And then, he uses a spell to write words in the air and everyone in the room starts singing, with a different tune for everyone. I hear a dirge somewhere. Probably from Fred and George.

I could care less about the stupid thing. Considering I don't really want anyone here to hear my singing voice. It's one thing when I'm in a band, but by myself, it's nerve wracking. The song ends and food appears on the table. Everyone digs in and I sigh, realizing that I'm not hungry.

"You not going to eat, Ambellina?" The prefect again. I shake my head.

"I'm not hungry." Gr. I'm seriously picking up that accent. That makes me a bit mad. Only that I'm not good with other accents. And unless I actually purposefully practice the stupid thing, it will sound extremely fake.


	7. Internet Access

**America's Witch 6- Internet Access**

Finally. I sit on the bed that my trunk and Rini's cage are at and sigh.

"I'm Pansy Parkinson."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Ambellina Dumbledore." There are two other girls in here, but I could care less about their names. I get up, leaving my backpack and purse sitting on the bed, and open my trunk. I start unpacking, organizing the books and such in the bookshelf by my bed. I pause with my guitar, unsure where to put it. I settle for leaning against the bookshelf and sit back on my bed. I frown, get up, and grab my guitar again before sitting back down and tuning it.

"You play?"

"Yea." I run through a few chords and nod to myself. I've had a song in mind lately. I reach over and pull my laptop out of my backpack, opening it and opening up my music program. I hum the tune that's in my head and experiment with different chords and strum patterns. I get the first few chords and mark them on the program, setting the timing and marking the strum patterns as notes on the bars.

I go to the next bar and start putting words with the tune. "Flowers fly. Clouds sing. Run with me through the field of my dreams. Mark the road. Write the mood. Ride through the world on clouds of old." I pause in playing to mark a series of notes and notice that the sounds of girls getting situated has stopped and all eyes are on me. I frown, finish writing the bar and then look at them. "What?"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm working on a song. What does it look like?"

"That's…"

"What? My guitar or the laptop?"

"Is that what it is?" I sigh.

"You all are seriously depraved." I ignore them and go back to…oh? I just got an alert from my Yahoo account…I reach over and click on it.

'_Sup girl? I heard you're going to boarding school in England. How come you're on? What time is it over there? You living in NYC now right?'_ No way! I get internet here. Excellent. And my battery is still at 100%, even though I haven't plugged it in in a month. I shrug that off and type in a reply.

'_Yea, I'm at the school right now. It's boring like crazy though. And I'm in the dorm, working on a new song. It seriously sucks that I can't be in Boston. It'd be awesome if we could all play at the dances this year.'_ I click send and put my guitar back by the bookshelf. I sit back down and read her message.

'_Miss ya girl. I gotta go; I was getting on for a minute b4 going to Macy's house.'_ I sigh and start typing.

'_Miss ya 2. Tell Mace I said hi?'_ I send the message and notice that I'm being stared at again. Another window pops up, someone else talking to me.

'_Kombanwa ha, Ambellina-san.'_ I smile.

'_Konnichi ha, Maruko-san. __Genki desuka?'_ I send the message and switch windows.

'_Course. L8r t8r, make new friends at school and then gossip back to me!'_ I laugh.

'_Sure thing. I'll do what I can. LOL.'_ I send that message and switch windows again.

'_Genki desu. Anata ha?'_ I sigh and notice that Mary got off. I nod to myself and close out that window.

'_Tsukarimashita desu. Anata no kazoku ha?'_ I wonder…I open up the internet and smile when it loads right. Perfect. I check the IM window.

'_Oka-chan ha genki desu, Otou-chan mo. __Onii-chan ne benkyo da.'_ I decide to check my MySpace.

'_Gakkou ha?'_ No messages. I fix my status and mood and then get off of MySpace, moving on to Quizilla [haha, yes, she's a member. Try Ichibantai taicho ;)]. I switch windows and read the new message.

'_Sugei na! It's my first term in middle school. What about you?'_ I start typing immediately.

'_I'm starting at a boarding school in England. In fact, I'm in the dorm right now. Oh. It's late…'_ I go to Quizilla and reply a message from Kim_. 'That's great. I'll get it up ASAP, thanks for the idea before, BTW.' _She and I are doing a stagecoach right now… [AN: Kim is not Starqueen113. Even though I am doing a stagecoach with her. It's a Kim that I made up in my head, but she sort of has the same personality as the real Kim…oh well] oh, the next chapter…I open my writing program and copy the chapter in so I can have it for reference. I close out the internet and check the IM.

'_Then I'll let you go to bed. Have fun. Have you gotten any new chapters in your stories posted?'_ I smile slightly and shake my head.

'_Not since last month. It's been busy. Mata ashita.'_ I'll work on the next chapter tomorrow. It's Sunday tomorrow, so I should have time to write some. Huh? What's that noise?

"Looks like the fifth and sixth years are at it already. We'll never get to sleep with that noise."

"What?"

"You didn't know? It's common knowledge. The fifth and sixth years stay up all night the first few nights of the school year and make a lot of noise, to torture the first years. My sister warned me about it. She's a third year." I nod slowly.

"What are you doing now?" I kind of wish that Pansy would leave me alone…but if she wants to bother me, let her.

"I'm talking to a friend."

'_Oh, I'll be on the lookout. Oyasumi.'_ I close out the window and shut down the computer. I put my laptop back in my bag and set it on the floor by the bed.

"Finished?"

"Yea." And trying to go to bed.

"Why do you have such a _Muggle_ thing?"

"Huh? Oh, you mean the laptop? Because it's easier to write my stories, of course." If she asks me about one more thing…I'm going to sleep in the common room!

"And that?" Pansy points at my iPod, which I am wrapping up in the headphones and putting in the drawer.

"So I can listen to music, of course." She goes over to my books and runs her hand along the bindings, reading the titles.

"I've never heard of these books. What are they?" I sigh and fish out my Naruto pajamas.

"Read the title and you'll know." She frowns and pulls one of the manga off the shelf. I notice the number. "It helps if you read it from the beginning, and from right to left."

"The pictures don't move? A Muggle book?" I pull my iPod out of the drawer again and set it on my pillow.

"If you're thinking of messing it up, you'll be the one to go to the store and replace it. And that volume is very hard to find."

"Why would a _witch_ want to read a _Muggle_ book?" I straighten out the pillow and pull all but one of the curtains closed. I turn to my trunk to pull out my lamp.

"Because it's interesting, of course. Why don't you mind your own business, Pansy?" She frowns and puts the book back in place. I'm the only one in the room that isn't ready for bed. I frown slightly and change into my pajamas and turn my sheets back. Now, Pansy is examining my necklaces.

"This character…is from that book?" I sigh and nod while setting up my lamp.

"Yea. You have a problem with that?" I'm beginning to think that Slytherins don't care much for 'Muggle' things. Oh well, they'll have to deal with it.

"With all this Muggle stuff, you should have been sorted into Gryffindor."

"Well, I got sorted into this house. So it doesn't matter. I'd appreciate it if you would stop messing with my stuff." She frowns at that, but puts the necklaces down and goes to her bed. I already despise it here. I turn on the lamp as the rest of the room goes dark and grab _Cirque Du Freak_. I sit on my bed and pull the curtains fully closed. I put my headphones in and start my music. I sit up in the bed and read for a bit before putting the book on my bedside table and turning out the lamp to go to sleep.


	8. Switching Tables

**America's Witch 7- Switching Tables**

"What classes do you have?" I glance at one of my roommates—one of the less annoying ones that I don't know the name of.

"Um…let's see…" I examine my schedule, completely baffled by it. I turn around and tap Ron's shoulder.

"Hey Ron. A little help here?" He turns to face me.

"Huh? Oh, what?" I sigh and hold up my schedule.

"I'm totally confused here." He looks around, nervous. I sigh and get up, to sit by him. "Hey Harry." He smiles slightly.

"Morning, Ambellina." I smile back at him.

"You get roomed with anyone interesting?" I roll my eyes.

"More like annoying. They can't seem to understand that I need space." Both of the boys laugh slightly.

"Oh, did you test out your computer?" I nod, beaming.

"Yea. Perfect battery. And I even have internet access. I wonder if my parents did something to it before I left home." Ron shrugs.

"Probably." I nod slowly.

"Anyways, my schedule." I hold up the piece of paper and sigh.

"Oh right. Um, oh, you've got Potions with me and Harry." I smile.

"Cool." Ron examines the schedule some more.

"Transfiguration…that sounds really hard…I think it's just something you'll have to get as you go." I glance back at the Slytherin table. "That seriously sucks that you got sorted with them." I sigh.

"They expect me to know all about stuff and I don't. It's really annoying. I'm not used to being dumb."

"That's your parents' fault though…" I know Ron's trying to cheer me up…but it's not really working.

"Oh yea, I know that. But still. And Pansy, she's the one that looks like an otter turned human; she won't quit bugging me about my stuff. You know my books and my laptop and iPod. It's only been one night but I'm already tired of it." I laugh slightly. "She had me so pissed last night that I almost went to the common room with my pillow and iPod!"

"Did your house's fifth and sixth years keep you up all night?" I shake my head.

"No. They made a lot of noise, but I'm a heavy sleeper. And I fell asleep quickly. But I think the others had issues. Why? Did you guys have that problem?"

"Yea. It stopped around midnight though. Percy, the other prefect, and the Head Boy and Girl stopped it I think." I nod slowly.

"Fun. I wonder how long they'll keep it up." Ron sighs.

"Fred and George said that it lasts through the entire first week." I hit my forehead lightly.

"Oh great. That means I'm stuck with my roommates complaining twice as much."

"They pretty bad already?" I nod.

"Yes! I'm wondering if they just look for an excuse to complain about something. It's really annoying." I seriously just said that the same way that my dad usually does. A few words at least. I sigh.

"You're picking up the accent." I glare at Ron.

"Shut up Ron." Harry draws my attention by clearing his throat slightly.

"You have any friends in America?" I nod.

"Yea, from my last school, in Boston. In fact, I talked to one of them last night. School's already started in America."

"Wow. Um…you didn't tell her about…?" I laugh slightly and look at Ron.

"What school I'm at? No. None of my friends know anything more than that I'm at a boarding school in England. We don't talk about school much anyways."

"Kay. 'Cuz Muggles can't know. About magic, you know." I nod. That's a 'no duh Sherlock' moment.

"I figured that. They wouldn't believe me even if I did tell them though. _I'm_ still in shock." I hear steps and laughter. George.

"What's a Slytherin doing sitting over here? Get back to your table." I look at him and smile.

"Hey George." He mock gasps.

"I'm Fred." I roll my eyes as he sits beside me.

"Anyways, George, last night, was it you and Fred singing the Dirge?" Fred comes over and squeezes in between me and Ron.

"Haha, you caught us. It's fun though. What tune did you use?" I hesitate.

"I…didn't sing it. I have issues with stuff like that." Both of the twins stare at me.

"Weren't you in a band before though?" I nod slightly.

"That's different. I don't do a cappella." George nods slightly, like he understands perfectly.

"Ah. Hey, how come you can tell me and Fred apart?" I smile.

"Intuition. I'm good at figuring stuff out." Fred laughs slightly.

"Lucky. Mum always confuses us." I laugh at that.

"Not always. You two just mess with her." They both nod, agreeing to that. They mess with everyone.

"Hey, your housemates are glaring at you." I shrug.

"I know. I can feel their glares boring into my back. I could really care less though." George chuckles.

"Just because you're related to the headmaster, that doesn't mean you can do whatever you want." I nod.

"I wasn't thinking about that. There's an aura around that group. It makes me uncomfortable. I don't understand why I got put with them." Percy walks up and sits beside Harry, directly across from me.

"I don't get it either. It's a majorly strange thing for someone in a family that's strongly linked to a house to get sorted in the exact opposite house." I smile at him.

"Morning Percy." He smiles and nods in return.

"Good morning, Ambellina. How was your first night?" I sigh, ready to have to reiterate what I told Ron and Harry.

"Annoying. My roommates were complaining constantly. It was a wonder that I managed to fall asleep." Percy laughs slightly.

"That bad?" I nod.

"Yes." All three of the older Weasley boys look up and I hear the sound of wings flapping.

"Oh, post's here. You might want to be at the right table, Ambellina." I frown, but turn around in my seat and go back to the Slytherin table, the exact same seat I was in a minute ago.

"Listen, Dumbledore. Just because you're related to the headmaster doesn't mean that you can just go over to the Gryffindor table whenever you like." I frown at Malfoy.

"I could care less. My _friends_ are at that table. Bug off, Malfoy." An owl, carrying a thick, book shaped package lands in front of me and I examine the package as the owl flies off.

"What's that?" I smile at the size and light weight of it.

"Exactly what I wanted!" I open the package and hug the books to my chest, ecstatic. "He sent all of them at the same time."

"What?" Draco is staring at my bundle of books like they're about to explode or something.

"The latest volumes of Shonen Jump and La-la. Of course. Can't you read?" That would be a stupid question, because the writing is Japanese, but still.

"No. It's in another language." I roll my eyes and flip through the pages of Shonen Jump, straight to Bleach. Someone taps my shoulder and I look back.

"What?" I snap before I realize that it's Hermione. I smile at her. "Sorry."

"It's okay. What language is that?" I laugh slightly.

"You can't tell? It's Japanese, of course." She laughs as well, recognizing the sarcasm in my tone.

"You speak Japanese?" I nod.

"Yes. I have three friends that live in Tokyo; we hardly ever talk in English." Hermione nods and goes to a seat, between the Weasley twins—exactly where I was before I came back to this table.

"It's a shame we couldn't get here tonight instead of last night." I nod.

"Yea, but at least it's a nice day." Hermione smiles, nodding.

"Yea." We both turn back to our tables. I ignore the chatter and read my manga, munching on a single roll.

"Whatcha reading?" I look at Fred, who just got up and is about to try and sit next to me again.

"Shonen Jump. Go back to your table, Fred." He frowns, but chuckles.

"How'd you know it was me?" I glance at him.

"I can tell." He frowns, shrugs, claps me on the back, and then crosses over to sit beside George—not in the same seat he was in before. I roll my eyes and continue reading.

I finish my roll, gather my books, and get up, picking up my backpack and purse before leaving the Great Hall. I head to the dorm first, to put my books away, I can read later. For now, I have a story to work on. I head to my room and put my books in my trunk. I also put my other manga and 'Muggle' books in the trunk.


	9. Soccer

**America's Witch 8- Soccer**

I pull my Soccer ball out of my trunk and lock it. I drop the key into my purse and go outside. I climb up a tree and hang my purse on high branch. I drop out of the tree and catch myself on a lower branch, swinging out of the tree, doing a double flip in the air, and landing in a crouch. I pick up my soccer ball and set it on the tip of my toes. I kick the ball into the air and bounce it off my knees and head. I keep the ball off the ground for a while and catch it, noticing someone watching me.

"Can I help you? How long have you been watching me?"

"Since you were in the tree." I sigh and turn.

"You didn't answer my question. Oh, your name?"

"I'm Marcus Flint, the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team. You're Ambellina Dumbledore, right?" I nod. "You play a Muggle sport?" I shrug and toss the ball into the air.

"A little. I prefer it to American Football. I was left forward for my school's team back in Boston." I bounce the ball off my head and then my knees. I aim for the tree as a goal and shoot, hitting dead center and catch the rebound.

"I understand that you didn't grow up around magic?" I nod and catch my purse, which fell from the impact.

"So?" I run at the tree and drop the ball and my purse at the base, running up the trunk and to a high branch.

"What do you know about Quidditch? And can you come down?" I laugh.

"Give me a sec!" I swing around a branch and jump out of the tree on the fourth spin. I flip around a few times and spin in the air.

"Hey! You could hurt yourself like that!" I laugh and land on my hands.

"Really? I've done bigger tricks than that, and from higher." I flip off my hands and land in a crouch. "And I don't know anything about Quidditch. A little that I read from a book. It's Soccer on broomsticks. Three forwards, two guards, a goalie, and an extra person for the extra ball. Four balls, three move on their own. I don't know the rules, though."  
"That's enough. What's a Forward?" I think about that.

"Um…the point maker. A forward dribbles the ball to the goal and shoots into the goal and makes the points to win the game." Marcus nods slowly, not quite getting it I think.

"Oh, so you're a chaser?" I sigh.

"If the chaser is the forward." He nods and I nod in return. "Then I'm a chaser."

"You interested in learning Quidditch? We're short a chaser." I shrug.

"Sounds interesting. But I don't know how to ride a broom." He laughs.

"For some people it comes naturally. Come with me." I pick up my purse and ball and follow him into the school. He leads me to a room and I look around the room.

"Are all these people former students?" He nods.

"Come over here." I turn and walk over. "This is the Gryffindor team from the year Matthew Dumbledore and James Potter graduated. James and Matthew were both on their team in their first year, and kept the Cup in Gryffindor house every year running. They never lost a match. And…if I'm not mistaken, Matthew is your father?" I nod.

"Dad…" I shake my head and back up. "I'll check Quidditch out, but after my first flying lesson." Flint nods, smiling with crooked, disgusting looking teeth.

"Okay. We've only got one spot open. If Hooch thinks you're good enough, she'll clear you for try-outs on Saturday." I nod and leave the room, heading to the dorm. I unlock my trunk and pull out my computer. I turn it on and log into my messenger. No one's on. I shrug and open a story that I'm working on.

"Excuse me?" I look up from my typing and stare at the door.

"What?" The door opens and a girl, whom I recognize as the Head Girl, comes into the room.

"Ambellina, right?" I nod. "There's a couple of Gryffindors looking for you." I smile slightly.

"Harry and Ron?" The girl shrugs and I turn off my computer. "Thanks." I put the computer into my trunk and lock it.

"You don't have to lock your things into your trunk. Is there a trust issue with your roommates?" I shrug.

"Until I'm sure that no one in this house is going to tamper with my things, I'll be locking my valuables away." She frowns.

"Just because you have Muggle things, doesn't mean that anyone will tamper with them." I roll my eyes.

"We'll see." I leave the room and then the dorm. I head upstairs and spot the two boys in the main hall.

"Hey!" I hurry over.

"Harry saw you on the grounds from the Common Room window."

"You have a football?" I nod.

"Do you play?" Harry nods.

"Not very well." I laugh slightly.

"Well, that can be fixed. I'll be right back." I start back to the dorm. I stop just inside the hall and close my eyes. "Please work." I had accidentally gotten something to appear in my hands from another place before, but I hadn't thought anything about it. My soccer ball appears in my hand and I smile slightly. It worked. I hurry back into the main hall and spin the ball on my finger. "You two ready to get schooled?"

"Huh?" I sigh.

"Let's just go outside. It's stuffy in here." We head outside and to a clear field. I drop the ball and put my foot on top of it.

"So…how do you play?" I smile.

"You want to get the ball into the goal. Only the goalie can touch the ball with their hands. No violence. And…oh. You can touch the ball with everything but your hands. Including your head, knees, feet, and chest." Ron nods slowly.

"Okay…" A guy runs over and I recognize him from the Gryffindor table.

"You guys playing Football?" Harry turns to the guy and nods.

"Yea. You want to join us? It'll be an even number then, Seamus." He nods fervently.

"Sure!" The guy gets over and catches his breathe in front of us. "I'm Seamus."

"Ambellina. You're…in Gryffindor with Harry and Ron, right?"

"Yea. Their roommate." He straightens up and smiles slightly. "You're in Slytherin, right?" I nod.

"Yep. You know how to play?" He laughs and nods.

"Of course! I'm half and half." I smile.

"Okay. Ron, you're with me. I'll keep goal." Ron nods slightly.

"I'll keep over here." Harry runs over to a tree and I run to another.

"We'll switch out in a bit." Seamus sets up the ball and Ron manages to steal it from him, running towards Harry. He gets a goal in and Seamus catches the ball when it's thrown back in. He gets over to my goal and tries for a shot. I catch the ball and throw it back in. "1-0!" Ron gets the ball again and makes another goal.

"2-0!" A pattern develops, Ron gets the ball, makes a goal, Seamus gets the ball and I catch the shot, then it repeats.

"8-0! Let's switch out." Ron and I switch positions while Seamus and Harry do the same. "Ready guys?" Everyone nods and I set up the ball. Harry gets the ball, but I steal it quickly, making my way towards Seamus. Harry gets the ball away from me and we switch directions. I run in front of Harry as he goes to shoot and kick the ball back towards the other end of the field. I run to get the ball and then score. "9-0! We're playing to 12." Seamus throws the ball back in and I catch it. Harry gets it and almost makes a goal, but Ron catches it. Harry catches the ball when Ron throws it in and I steal it.

A new pattern develops, I have to work harder than Ron did, but that's fine. Harry doesn't get another chance at a goal, because every time he gets it, I steal it almost immediately, and make the point. "12-0! Good game guys." Ron and I hi-five and we all laugh.

"Man…it's too bad you're a Slytherin…we could all hang out more often." I laugh slightly.

"Life sucks." We drop onto the grass, tired from the game.

"So, Ambellina, where are you from? What's your story?" I shrug.

"I live in New York, New York. My mom's a doctor, and we move around a lot. My dad's a reporter for the Daily Prophet."


	10. Potions

**America's Witch 9- Potions**

Most of my classes, unfortunately, are with Draco Malfoy and his two goons. But on the bright side, I also share most of my classes with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Seamus. I sit with either Harry and Ron, or Hermione and another girl, or Seamus and Neville, another one of Harry and Ron's roommates. Everything is pretty easy too. Luckily, I don't have but two or three classes with my annoying roommates. Pansy, her two goons, and Millicent Bullstrode. She gets on my nerves less than the other three, but she is still a bit annoying. I think that the Head Boy and Girl and the Prefects are the nicest out of the whole house.

The only incidents in classes until Friday are really people mumbling about me and Harry. Every five seconds I hear, "Harry Potter's in this class. The one with glasses by Weasley." Or, "Look at that. Isn't that Professor Dumbledore's great-granddaughter? Yes, I think it is." It's really annoying.

Friday, however, in Potions, is the least pleasant. I've already started to dislike Professor Snape, the Head of Slytherin House. He's a nasty man with greasy black hair. And his voice is almost as oily as his hair. He takes roll and pauses at my name, the same as Professor Flitwick did in charms the other day.

"Ambellina Dumbledore…one of the new…_celebrities_." I frown at that, and he approaches my table, interrupting the roll call. "Tell me, Miss Dumbledore. What would I get if I were to mix the nectar of wolfsbane with an infusion of powdered crimshood and Layso beans?"

"That's advanced Potions, but you'd get half of the potion used to tame Werewolves during the full moon." He narrows his eyes and walks back to his desk to continue the roll call.

"How'd you know that?"

"I finished reading the book for this class, memorized it actually, and moved on to an advanced potions manual." Draco, who I ended up getting stuck beside because it's pairs only, and all of my friends were already paired up, looks entirely confused by that. I can tell that Snape prefers Slytherin students, because he seems to list their names off a bit more pleasantly than any of the other students. He pauses at Harry's name.

"Ah, yes. Harry Potter, the other of the new—_celebrities_." Draco and his goons snigger behind their hands and I resist smacking Draco over the head. I look over at Harry apologetically and notice he looks entirely embarrassed. He's not a studier, so he wouldn't know anything that Snape were to ask him about. Snape finishes the roll without anymore interruptions and I watch him during his speech. "Here you will learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses…I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death—if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Hermione, a row behind me to my left, is on the edge of her seat, eager to prove herself, and Harry and Ron, partnered in the row to my right and three back, look nervous and confused. Seamus and Neville, who are in the desk beside mine, exchange a hopeless look and then look at me. I smile encouragingly at them and they smile back. The room is in silence, and I glance behind me at Crabbe and Goyle. They look worried. Even Draco looks concerned. "Potter!"

The sudden call jerks the attention of the room to Harry. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Hermione shoots her hand into the air and I watch Harry. I smile at him.

"Don't worry. He's just messing with you." I mouth the words.

"I don't know, sir." Snape sneers.

"Tut, tut—fame clearly isn't everything. Let's try again, Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" That's advanced potions! There's no way that Harry would know that. Especially not being a studier, and raised by normal people.

"I don't know, sir."

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter? Even Dumbledore is on Advanced Potions." Hermione's hand quivers and I sigh. "What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Hermione stands up and I raise my hand. Not to answer the question, but to protest this senseless torturing of Harry.

"I don't know. I think Hermione does though, why don't you try her? Or even Ambellina." Several laugh, and Seamus looks back at Harry, winking. Snape, however, is entirely ticked.

"Sit down." He snaps at Hermione. "What do you want?" I frown and stand up.

"I don't think that you're being fair, professor. Simply because you obviously have a strange thing against Harry, doesn't mean you can immediately set into asking him questions that would only be answerable if he were to memorize the book or be previously familiar with potions and potion-making materials." At that, even Crabbe and Goyle laugh and when I turn to sit down, Goyle hi-fives me. Draco does the same when I get seated and Neville gives me a thumbs-up. I guess the only reason the three goons reacted well to that was the fact that they're trying to get me into their little group…or something.

Crabbe and Goyle are too stupid to understand more than that I just chewed out a teacher and so far I'm not getting into trouble about it. Draco on the other hand…he's too devious and anti-Gryffindor to be celebrating over my standing up for a friend from that house.

Snape walks to his desk and puts his hand on the table.

"For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?" Everyone suddenly rummages in their bags for notebooks and quills while I pull out a decoupage notebook that I got in the mail from Maruko, and a pen covered with Zero's face—a character from Vampire Knight. I write down the information quickly. "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter." After everyone gets the notes down, Snape sets us to making a potion to cure boils. Snape makes a point to point out the fact that my potion is turning out perfectly, though he's putting the credit to Draco.

"Sorry." I shrug.

"It's okay. He doesn't like me. Life happens." I look over and tap Neville on the shoulder. "You didn't just put the porcupine quills in, did you?" He nods. "That's not good…" Just then, Seamus' cauldron starts to melt and their potion spills all over the floor and onto Neville. I step onto my stool and pick up my bag before it gets to me and Draco follows suit. It doesn't take long for the potion to start burning holes in peoples shoes and almost the entire class is on their stools.

"Idiot boy! I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?" With a wave of his wand, Snape makes the potion vanish and Neville whimpers as red boils pop up all over his nose. "Take him to the hospital wing."

He whirls on Harry and Ron, who moved up to the row behind Neville and Seamus. "You—Potter—why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor." I start to protest that, because it's just unfair, but Draco touches my shoulder slightly. Harry and Seamus are teaming up to help Neville to the hospital wing.

"Don't. You're lucky that you're a Slytherin, or he'd have knocked points off because of what you said earlier." I sigh and nod. He's right. But Draco needs to stay out of it. I swat his hand away and as soon as Harry and Seamus get out of the room, I stand up.

"You have something to say, Miss Dumbledore?" I nod once.

"Yes. Harry was paying attention to his and Ron's cauldron. I was the one that noticed that Neville was putting the porcupine quills in early and didn't warn him." Snape frowns, but goes back to his desk.

"Back to your work!" Everyone scrambles to get back on track with their potions and I sit down.

An hour later, I catch up with Harry—he and Seamus got back a few minutes after they left with Neville—and Ron on the step out.

"Harry! Ron!" They stop and I catch my breath. "I'm so sorry about what happened. That was insanely unfair of Snape."

"Yea, Cheer up. Snape's always taking points off Fred and George." I laugh at that.

"Hey, Ambellina! Can you come help with something?" I look across the hall at Draco and sigh.

"I'll see you guys later?" Harry and Ron both nod.

"Yea. Oh! I'm going to have tea with Hagrid later. Do you want to come?" I nod.

"Sure. What time?"

"We'll head out to Hagrid's at five till three. Meet up in the main hall." I nod and hurry over to Draco and his goons.

"I'll see you then!" I get over to the guys and Draco raises an eyebrow.

"Did you know them before?" I nod.

"My dad's good friend's with Ron's dad. And I met Harry on the train. What did you need help with?" Draco looks away from me, like he's embarrassed to be asking for help.

"This stupid homework that McGonagall gave us." I laugh slightly.

"It's not that hard." Draco frowns at that.

"Says the one who's already on Advanced Potions." I smile and roll my eyes. I don't like him, and I don't trust him, but I'd rather keep my enemies—or potential enemies—close.


	11. Study Time and Tea

**America's Witch 10- Study Time and Tea**

"You know where the library is?"

"Not yet. Though it's on my list of places to go tomorrow."

"Or this afternoon? It's either the library or the common room." I shrug.

"Let's just go to the common room." The guys nod and we go to the Slytherin Common Room.

"Did you really memorize our books?"

"All of them."

"You're gonna ace this term, I can tell." I shrug and we get to the portrait at the door.

"Password?" The portrait is small…but he's got a voice that echoes all through the hallway.

"Crimshood." The door swings open and we go into the common room. Draco and I sit on a black couch while Crabbe and Goyle sit across the little coffee table on a dark green couch.

"So, what are you guys having trouble with on the homework?" Draco sighs and shrugs.

"Everything. I looked at it and it made a bit of sense, but those two are plain stupid." They don't deny it, but they don't seem very happy that Draco called them stupid. I sigh and pull out my homework and book. The guys follow suit and I proceed to help them with the assignment.

"Well, I'm expected in the Main hall in a few minutes. See you guys later." I run to my room and put my bag on my bed before hurrying out and up to the main hall. I spot Ron and Harry and wave.

"Hey Ambellina. What did the three goons want?" I laugh slightly.

"Help with homework." We leave the castle and head down the grounds to a small house at the edge of the forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes are outside the door and when Harry knocks on the door, a scratching sound is heard and then something barks loudly.

"_Back_, Fang—_back_." Hagrid, the grounds keeper that led us across the lake on the first night, appears in the cracked door as he opens it. "Hang on. _Back_, Fang." We go inside, as Hagrid struggles to keep hold of the collar of the enormous black boarhound. I look around the single room. Hams and pheasants hanging from the ceiling…a copper kettle over an open fire. And a massive bed in the corner with a patchwork quilt over it. "Make yerselves at home." Hagrid lets go of Fang and he bounds up to Ron, to start licking his ears. Not as fierce as he looks.

"This is Ron, and Ambellina." Hagrid is pouring water out of the kettle into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate. They don't look like rock cakes…but whatever.

"Another Weasley, eh?" Hagrid starts over, glancing at Ron's freckles. "I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest." The rock cakes are really shapeless lumps with raisins. I plead the fact that most things like that give me indigestion and the three of us proceed to tell Hagrid about classes this week. I glance at my watch and then remember that Draco had wanted to talk by the lake at three-thirty. And it's three twenty-five. I stand up.

"I hate to seem rude, but one of my housemates needs help with homework. And I wasn't thinking when I told them that I'd be available at three-thirty."

"Oh, that's fine, Ambellina." I hurry out of the house and run to the lake. I spot Draco, by himself for once, under a big tree by the lake. I hurry over and sit down by him. "What did you want to talk about?" He smirks.

"Things. Like allegiances." I raise an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, are you going to be making trouble for Slytherin?" I frown.

"And you were appointed the official 'Loyalty Monitor' when?" He shrugs.

"I'm just asking. Because there aren't many people…like you in Slytherin." I stand up.

"So you think I'm going to what? Give everyone in Slytherin a hard time because I have interests different from everyone else? That is so absurd and stupid! This is worse than middle school cliques!" I run back to the school and hurry to Gryffindor Tower.

"Password?" I sigh and examine the portrait. It's a giant portrait of a fat lady in a pink Victorian gown.

"Oh, I don't know." She frowns slightly.

"Well, if you don't know the password, I can't let you through." I sigh and lean on the wall. "Were you looking for someone?" I shrug.

"Just Hermione."

"Granger? A charming girl." I nod once.

"Do you happen to know if she's in the dorm?" I look at the Fat Lady for a response and she simply smiles, shaking her head.

"No. I think she went off to the library." I sigh. I still haven't made my way to the library.

"Which way would that be?" The Fat Lady looks a bit shocked that I don't know where it is, but she smiles broadly after a moment.

"I'll put in a word with—"

"And who is this? A wayward first year on the hunt for a friend?" A ghost comes through a wall, cutting her off, and I recognize him as the Gryffindor Ghost.

"You're…Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington?" He smiles and nods, nearly making his head fall.

"Why yes. A girl with sense. Now, where are you going?" I smile back at him.

"To the library. I'm in search of a friend of mine and I think that that's where she is." Nick laughs and starts to float in a direction.

"Well then, follow me." I follow Nick to the library and he leaves at the door. I walk through and look for Hermione. I spot her hair first and hurry over. I sit at the table with her and she looks up from her book.

"You did amazing in Potions today." I smile slightly, a bit embarrassed by that.

"Thanks, so did you. I saw you having to help Patil with the potion." As much as I draw attention, I really don't like it.

"It was great how you stood up to Snape. Especially since he's your Head of House." I sigh. And it's back to me.

"It wasn't fair that he acted like that against Harry and not me." Hermione nods slightly.

"He _did_ ask you an Advanced Potions question." I nod slightly and put my head on the table. "What's wrong?"

"Slytherins are such jerks." Hermione laughs slightly.

"You _are_ a Slytherin." I shake my head.

"Maybe the hat got it wrong. I am _not_ a selfish little prick. And I am _not_ a stereotype. I don't make assumptions about people based on what their interests are."

"Ambellina…" I look at Hermione and sigh.

"I'm sorry." She shakes her head.

"What happened?" I sigh again.

"First, my roommates are jerks just because of the fact that I have a lot of…'Muggle things' and then today, stupid Draco decided that he needed to make sure I was 'loyal'." Hermione laughs slightly.

"That is so pathetic. You can still transfer to Gryffindor." I shake my head.

"Even if the hat got it wrong, I got put into Slytherin. And I'm not a quitter. So…I'll deal with it. I'm sorry to just run in here and act like this." She smiles and shakes her head.

"It's okay. That's what friends are for." I smile slightly.

"Thanks, Hermione." She nods.

"So. Do you feel at least a bit better now you've unloaded?" I nod.

"A little." She nods again.

"Good. Now. Who are your roommates?" I roll my eyes.

"Pansy Parkinson—GAG—Millicent Bullstrode—not so GAG—and two others, I forget their names. But they're pretty…GAG too." Hermione raises an eyebrow.

"GAG?" I raise an eyebrow.

"You know? Gross and Gruesome." She laughs at that.

"Gross and gruesome? That bad?" I nod.

"Pansy tried to keep me and Millicent up since the noise from the fifth and sixth years was keeping her up. And her two goons just egged it on. Millicent got so ticked last night about it that I had to hold her back from giving Pansy a bloody nose." Hermione laughs slightly.

"Wow…so you get along with Millicent?" I shrug.

"Better than the other three. She's actually trying to be nice I think. Out of all of them, she's the only one who hasn't messed with me about my books or my other stuff."

"Well, that's good." I nod and get up to grab a book. I sit back down with Hermione and start to read. We read until dinner and walk to the Great Hall together.


	12. Flying Lessons

**America's Witch 11- Flying Lessons…**

"Ugh! Flying lessons with the Gryffindors! Like Potions isn't enough to stick us with them." Why do people keep complaining about this stuff? Well…now I think about it…a lot of the classes that I have with Gryffindors have only like three or four Slytherins in them…so I guess it's not so strange that people would be upset.

The news of the Flying lessons has everyone talking about games and flight exploits from childhood. I strike up a sort of friendship with Dean Thomas, one of Harry and Ron's roommates. He's a Muggle-born, and is a fan of England's West Hams. I shocked him on Sunday afternoon when Seamus, Harry, and Ron approached me at breakfast asking for another game. So, he and another Muggle-born from Gryffindor—a girl named Amy O'Neal—joined us in a game of three-on-three. Dean, Amy, and I had teamed up and we kicked the Wizard Boys butts.

By the time we hit Thursday, I'm sick and tired of boasting guys. The boasts are interrupted by mail arriving. I spot my dad's owl with a package and catch the package of my books. Draco, who has taken to sitting beside me at breakfast, opens a package of sweets from his mother and offers me a pumpkin pasty that he claims that his mother made herself. I shrug and take it.

"Thanks…" I bite into the pasty.

"So, Ambellina, you've been so quiet about flying. You live in New York…is it fun flying through all those skyscrapers?" I nearly choke.

"Actually, we just moved to New York in May. Haven't had a chance to fly the skyline yet." Hopefully that will throw them off.

"Where'd you live before?" Then again, maybe not.

"Boston." This guy is really persistent.

"Did you get to fly there?" I shrug.

"My parents were really good at hiding what we are. I actually went to Muggle School." Everyone nearby groans like that's an extremely bad thing and I sigh to myself.

"That sucks." I shrug again.

"It's whatever. These are really good. Your mom really made these?" I look at Draco and he nods.

"Yep. Can you really read those?" I nod and flip through the pages to Bleach.

"Yep." I get up and stick my books into my bag. "See you in Flight." I head to the end of the hall and Hermione and Parvati Patil meet me at the back door.

"Are you excited about Flight this afternoon?" I shrug and we start walking to our first class.

"I'm a bit nervous. I've never ridden a broom before." Parvati smiles slightly.

"Well, your dad was a player, so maybe it will come naturally to you." Yea…hopefully.

"At least you're not a Gryffindor, Ambellina. Hermione was chattering our ears off with tips she got from a book!" I laugh.

"That's better than at the Slytherin table. Everyone was gloating about flying stuff. And they put me on the spot." Both girls laugh slightly.

"I saw you eating one of Malfoy's sweets." I shrug at Hermione's comment.

"He said that his mom made them. Pumpkin pasties." Parvati giggles.

"Wow…so, is there something between the two of you?" I shrug.

"He's pretty GAG, but not so much so as some of the others. He's worse around his two goons. Crabbe and Goyle." Parvati looks confused.

"Gross and Gruesome." Hermione explains and she nods.

"Ah." We get to our classroom and sit down together.

"Line up. Two lines. One person to a broom please." I already like Madam Hooch. She's very practical. And no one is talking. She explains the rules of the class. "Now. Hold your hand over your broom and say, _up_." A chorus of voices sound off in response and I notice several getting their brooms up on the first try.

"Up." The broom flies into my hand and I catch it. I'm standing between Draco and Pansy, across from Hermione. She caught her broom on the first try too. I smile at her and she smiles back.

"Now. Mount your brooms. Stay close to the base, and remain on the ground until my signal." We follow instructions and I spot Neville rising into the air. "Mister Longbottom! Get down!" No one is doing anything, and Neville's trying to talk his broom into landing.

"I can't!" His broom is out of control…I can tell that already.

"That's not good…" I kick off the ground and steer my broom up and after Neville.

"Miss Dumbledore!" I ignore her and catch up with the wayward broom, extending my hand to Neville.

"Neville! Grab my hand!" He reaches, but slips off the broom. I hurry down after him and catch his robe in my hand. I slowly head down and grunt, trying to pull Neville up. His robes slip out of my hand and he falls further.

His robe gets caught on a statue and I fly down. "Neville. Stay calm. Don't move. I'm going to get you on my broom and down to the ground. Just don't move." He nods and I hear a ripping sound. His robes! I slowly move towards the end of my broom and hook my arm around Neville's torso. I heave him up and he slips. I almost fall off my broom and grab the end to keep from falling.

I lose my grip on Neville and his robe rips, making him fall. I try to catch up and catch him, but he lands hard on the ground before I can catch him. I land and run over. "Neville!" Madam Hooch joins me and examines Neville.

"Broken wrist. Come on, boy—it's all right, up you get." Madam Hooch turns to the class. "None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch'. Come on, dear."

Madam Hooch takes Neville towards the school and stops to look at me. "Well, you too, Dumbledore." I nod and hurry after them. Madam Hooch takes me and Neville to the hospital wing and makes sure that Neville is taken care of before taking me down to the Potions room. "Professor Snape, can I borrow Flint for a minute?" I see Snape nod once through the door and Marcus Flint walks out of the room.

"Is something wrong, Madam Hooch? Oh, hello Ambellina." I seriously hope that this doesn't mean anything super important.

"You already know each other?" I nod. "Then we can make this quick. I have a class to get back to." Flint laughs slightly.

"What'd you do, Dumbledore?" Madam Hooch smiles slightly.

"She tried to rescue a classmate when his broom decided to act up." His eyes widen.

"Really? How close did you come?" I sigh.

"Very close. If the ground hadn't been so close, I probably could have caught him." He smirks.

"Was it your first time flying?" I nod. "Then I was right. Came to you on instinct, right?"

"Think you can use her as a chaser?" Flint nods.

"Yea." Madam Hooch nods once.

"Good then. Come on then, back to class." Flint goes back into his class and Madam Hooch and I go back out onto the grounds. Harry is missing. "Class is over. Get on with you all." Everyone starts inside and I catch up with Ron.

"Where's Harry?" He shrugs.

"Dunno. McGonagall pulled him from class when he went after Neville's Rememberall." I raise an eyebrow.  
"What happened?" Ron explains how after we left, Draco took Neville's new Rememberall and threw it. And how Harry just barely caught it by doing a nosedive.

"It was amazing! And then McGonagall came out and pulled him inside. Who knows what's gonna happen?" I laugh slightly.

"Probably nothing bad. I get the feeling that Professor McGonagall likes Harry." Ron nods slowly.

"So, what happened with you? You're still here? Did she take you to Professor Dumbledore?" I shake my head.

"Nope. I'm still here. She took me to Snape. And he's not doing anything. Though I think he's ticked about me trying to help a Gryffindor." He frowns.

"I don't like him. He's a…" I nod in agreement.

"Jerk. I know."


	13. Trouble and Brooms

**America's Witch 12- Trouble and Brooms**

"Did Hooch do anything? When are you going back to America?" I smile slightly. Just before I can respond, Flint comes over and sits across from me at the table.

"She'd better not be going back to America. If Gryffindor's got Potter, then we have to be able to beat them again. And we need Dumbledore." I frown. What about Harry?

"What do you mean?" Three others sit around us and laugh. My roommates look like idiots right now, looking at all of the older students that just gathered here.

"It means we've got a new Chaser. But keep quiet. It's a secret. We're starting training tomorrow." I nod and finish eating. I get up and head towards the hall. I spot Draco at the Gryffindor table, taunting Harry. I shrug it off and head to the dorm.

"What were you talking to Harry about?" I confront Draco and he shrugs.

"Nothing important. But he and Weasley probably aren't going to be here anymore." He laughs once before going to his room. I sigh and head to my own room. Nothing good will come of this.

At Eleven thirty, I slip out of the room and then out into the hall. I head up to the trophy room and hear something. I had a bad feeling already, but now I'm certain that something's going to go wrong.

"He's late, maybe he chickened out." Ron? I step around a corner and hold up my hands as he pulls his wand up.

"I come in peace. Who's late?" I spot Neville and Hermione, as well as Harry. "Hey Neville. How's your wrist?" I smile at him and he smiles back.

"Fine. Thanks for trying to help earlier." I nod.

"You're welcome. Now who…?" I hear something and duck into the group.

"Sniff around my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner." Filch! I look around and head towards the second door. I wave the others over and we all hurry out into the hall. "They're in here somewhere, probably hiding."

"This way." Harry mouths the words and we creep down the hall. Suddenly, Neville squeaks in fear and grabs Ron, hurtling them both into a suit of armor. The clanging sound fills the hall and I freeze. "Run!" We end up running through a hidden passageway and coming out close to the Charms classroom. We stop and catch our breath. "I think we've lost him."

"I—_told_—you. I—told—you." Hermione gasps, clutching at her side.

"We've got to get back to Gryffindor Tower. Quickly as possible." And I need to get back down to the dorm before Filch catches us.

"Malfoy tricked you. You realize that, don't you? He was never going to meet you—Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off." She's probably right. That must have been what Draco was talking to Harry about.

"Let's go." We hurry down the hall, and two doors down, a doorknob rattles and something shoots from a classroom in front of us. Peeves! He spots us and squeals in delight. I sigh.

"Shut up, Peeves—please—you'll get us thrown out." Peeves cackles.

"Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caught-y. "

"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please." He acts like he's considering it.

"Should tell Filch, I should. It's for your own good, you know." He's going to start yelling any second.

"Get out of the way." Ron swipes at Peeves and he starts to bellow.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED! STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!" We duck under Peeves and run to the end of the corridor, into a locked door.

"This is it! We're done for! This is the end!" Ron starts to panic and I can hear Filch running towards Peeves' shouting. Hermione shoves the boys aside.

"Oh, move over. _Alohamora_!" The lock clicks from Hermione's spell and we pile through as it opens. We shut it and press our ears against the wood—we being me and Harry.

"Which way did they go, Peeves? Quick, tell me."

"Say 'please'." Filch growls.

"Don't mess with me, Peeves, now _where did they go_?" Peeves cackles again.

"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please."

"All right—_please_."

"NOTHING! Ha haa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha, ha! Haa!" I can hear Peeves whoosh away and Filch cursing down the hall.

"He thinks this door is locked. I think we'll be okay—get _off_, Neville! _What_?" Harry shoves Neville and we turn around.

I've figured out where we are, and why we shouldn't be here. The forbidden third floor corridor…and the reason? There's a giant three-headed dog growling hungrily at us. Harry and I reach for the knob at the same time and we all fall into the hall. Harry slams the door shut and we run, almost flying, down the hall. I can't find Filch, so he must have gone somewhere else to look. I run in a different direction from the others, making my way to the dorm. I get to the dungeons and sigh in relief when I see the portrait occupied.

"Where have you been?" I frown.

"That doesn't matter right now. Wolfsbane." The portrait swings open and I hurry into the common room. I catch my breath and head to my room. I get in bed before my roommates wake up and fall asleep quickly.

"Morning, Harry! Ron!" I wave at them as I sit down at the Slytherin table for breakfast. Draco takes his usual seat beside me and seems shocked that they're still here. "Clever trick, last night. We barely got away from Filch."

"What? You got involved?" I nod.

"I couldn't help but wonder what was going on. And I couldn't sleep. See what I get for trying to save your ass?" Draco looks pretty confused.

"What?" I smirk.

"Well. If we _had_ been caught, it would have come out that you'd set Harry and Ron up, and then not only would you have gotten into trouble for setting them up for expulsion, but you would have also gotten in trouble for me being there. And if you had said something to me when I'd asked, I probably wouldn't have gotten involved." I fill my plate with breakfast and spot the owls coming with the mail. I see two large packages coming in and they go to two different tables. One to Gryffindor, the other to Slytherin. The Gryffindor package lands in front of Harry, along with a note, and the Slytherin one lands in front of me. A note falls down and I catch it. I read the note quickly.

'_I heard about the team from Grandfather. Don't open the package at the table; wait till you're in your room. It's a Nimbus Two Thousand. Take care of it. And write me to tell me when your first game is. It's against Gryffindor right? Your mother and I want to come and see you play! Oh, and don't let what anyone in that house says about you or any of your friends get to you. Ron got into Gryffindor right? And I heard that Harry Potter was in your class. Write back as soon as possible and fill us in on everything! Dad.'_ I laugh at the note and finish eating quickly.

"Do you need some help getting that to the dorm before classes?" I nod.

"Sure, thanks." Draco and I get up from the table and he picks up my broom.

"What is it?" I shake my head.

"Not in here." We head to the dorm and I stop in the common room.

"Well? Open it." I laugh slightly and open it up. "A Nimbus Two Thousand! Who sent it?"

"My dad. Because of the team. I guess that Professor Dumbledore…" Draco is laughing. He's so strange…acts one way around others and then he's such a…kid, I guess, when no one's around.

"Either way it goes! This is great. No one else on the team will have a good broom like this. Even Flint doesn't have his own broom. Or so I've heard." I shrug and take the broom to my room. I meet back up with Draco in the common room and we head to Potions, where I sit down with him.


	14. Quidditch Practice

**America's Witch 13- Quidditch Practice**

"Potter got one too. You suppose they're nicing up with him too?" I frown.

"Nicing up? That would be so GAG! Seriously, Draco? You're such a jerk." He shrugs, but looks a bit upset about that. I spot Harry and Ron coming in and I bounce out of my seat. "Harry. Did you get one too?"

"One what?" He's confused.

"A broom." I whisper it and both guys nod.

"Yea. Nimbus Two Thousand. What's yours?" I shrug.

"The same. Dad sent it to me. Did Professor McGonagall send yours? Did you make the team?" Harry nods.

"Yes. Seeker. What about you?" He's whispering…oh well.

"I'm the new Chaser. But don't tell anyone." I whisper back and Harry nods.

"Same here. Not supposed to tell." Ron smirks.

"That should be an interesting first game then." We both look at him.

"What do you mean?" Ron shrugs.

"First game of the season's always between Gryffindor and Slytherin." I nod slowly and so does Harry.

"Oh."

"When do you start training?" I shrug.

"I'm not sure. I have to talk to Flint later and find out I guess. When are you starting, Harry?" He sighs.

"Tonight." I nod slightly and hear Snape come into the room.

"All right. Class is starting. Everyone in your seats." I hurry back to my table and smile back at Harry and Ron.

"Dumbledore! There you are. Are you heading somewhere?" Flint runs up to me.

"I was on my way to the library to study with Hermione. What's up?" I look at Flint and figure that he probably wants to talk about practice.

"The team usually practices three times a week starting on Saturday at eleven in the morning. Think you can meet me on the field at ten thirty so I can explain the basics to you?" I nod.

"Sure thing. Got homework, see you Flint." I head up to the library and sit at a table with Hermione and Parvati. "Sorry I'm late." They both shake their heads.

"I overheard you talking to Potter. Are you really on the Slytherin team?" I shrug.

"I guess." Parvati giggles.

"It's because of when you helped Neville, right?" I nod.

"Here. You can borrow my copy of…" Hermione starts rummaging through her book bag.

"_Quidditch through the Ages_? I already have a copy, thanks." With that, we lay our homework out on the table and get to work.

I get up early on Saturday morning and put on some black sweats and a dark green t-shirt. I put on my combat boots and head downstairs with my soccer ball. I get to the Great Hall and snatch up a roll from one of the platters. I munch on that while I head outside and to the Quidditch Pitch. I get inside and nod to myself.

Oh! I forgot my new broom. Well, that's not a problem. I pull out my wand and discreetly use a spell that I got out of the Fourth Year Charms book. Since I've got all of the books for this year memorized, I'm bored reading those, so I've moved on to higher grade books.

I'm on third year with Potions, fourth year with Charms and Transfiguration, and fifth year with Astrology and Herbology. Everything else, I'm on second year. I use the summoning charm and my broom flies out of the school and straight to me. I set it against the wall of the stands and grab my ball. I start running laps while dribbling the ball.

I check the time and finish my stretching. It's already ten twenty-five. That means Flint will be here soon. I stretch out a bit before walking over to my broom. I climb onto it and kick off. I steer the broom easily around the goal posts and the stands.

"You're a natural! Come down here!" I land and walk over to Flint. "So, you compared Quidditch to Soccer right? What are the rules there?"

"Pretty simple. There's more people, three forwards, three mid-fielders, two back-guards, and a goalie. The goalie guards the goal. The back-guards protect the rest of the team from the opposing team. The mid-fielders and forwards make the points."

"Sounds a bit more complicated…oh well. The basics of Quidditch." I smile as Flint opens a chest. He pulls out the Quaffel, a red ball about the size of a soccer ball. He tosses it to me. "This is the Quaffel. The ball you'll be working with. Your goal is to get the ball into one of the three goal posts. I'm a Chaser as well." I nod and toss the ball back to him.

He pulls a short baseball bat out of the chest and hands it to me. "You're gonna need this. The Bludger." He un-straps one of the two Bludgers, both struggling to get out of the straps. The one Bludger flies out of the chest and straight at me. I swing the bat and it flies towards the stands. It rounds back on us and Flint tackles it.

Once Flint has the Bludger back in the chest, I hand him the bat back. "You've got a good swing. The last ball is the Golden Snitch. The Seeker goes after this one for the game point." I nod and Flint hurries to grab a broom. He comes back and gets in the air. I follow him and we pass around the Quaffel.

By eleven o'clock, we land and the rest of the team arrive. Flint introduces me to all of them. Chaser Adrian Pucey, Keeper Bletchly, and the two Beaters. We start practice and I give Pucey and Bletchly a run for their time.

"Well, if Gryffindor's Chasers this year are half as good as Dumbledore, then we'll be fine." I smile, slightly embarrassed, at the praise and everyone lands. We all walk, talking and laughing, back to the school, and into the Great Hall for lunch.

Between practice, homework, and hanging out with my friends, time flies and it ends up being Halloween morning before I realize it. I sit by Draco at breakfast, eating pumpkin pasties from his parents.

"My parents are coming to the game." I smile at Draco. I'm starting to warm to him, simply because I see how he acts without a lot of people around. I'm kind of hoping that he can start acting like that around others eventually.

"Cool. Will I be able to meet them after?" He looks at me and smiles slightly.

"Or before. Mum said that they'd be here in time for breakfast." I beam.

"That's great!" He raises an eyebrow.

"So you really want to meet them?" I nod.

"Of course. For one, I want to compliment your mother on these excellent sweets." He laughs at that and blushes slightly. I ignore that and go back to eating my breakfast.


	15. Halloween, Complete with Trolls

**America's Witch 14- Halloween, Complete with Trolls**

"See you at lunch?" Draco nods.

"Yea. Have fun in Charms with the Gryffindors." Draco winks and I laugh.

"See you, Draco." I head to Charms and bump into Parvati and Hermione on the way.

"Are you excited about the Feast tonight?" I shrug.

"It's just a feast." Parvati frowns disappointed that I'm not excited.

"You didn't hear? There's a rumor going round that Professor Dumbledore is going to have some sort of surprise for everyone." I shrug again.

"I guess I haven't heard." Both of them look shocked.

"You don't spend any time with Professor Dumbledore? None at all?" I shake my head.

"No. I've been too busy since school started to even consider meeting him." We get to the classroom and take our usual seats together. Professor Flitwick announces that he thinks we're ready to start levitating things, like he did with Neville's toad at the beginning of the year. He splits everyone into pairs. I end up working with Neville, while Hermione is working with Ron, and Harry is working with Seamus, and Parvati is behind me working with Dean now.

"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing. Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too—never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest." Not very difficult. I spend most of the time trying to help Neville get it right.

"Neville, really. Watch." I roll the sleeve of my robe up and do the movement. Neville tries to mimic the move, but his whole arm moves and he almost sends his wand flying into Parvati. "Try to just move your wrist. Don't move your whole arm." He tries again and gets it right this time. "Great! Now use the words."

"_Wingardium Leviosa_!" The feather flutters, but doesn't move.

"Try making the 'gar' longer." That confuses him.

"Huh?" I sigh and take up my wand.

"Like this. _Wingardium Leviosa_." The feather floats into the air and almost to the ceiling before I use my wand to lower it back onto the desk in front of me.

"Well done! Look here, Miss Dumbledore's got it!" I look over at Hermione and she smiles slightly.

"Good job." She mouths the words and then turns to Ron. He just said the spell wrong. "You're saying it wrong. Its Wing-_gar_-dium Levi-_o_-sa make the 'gar' nice and long. Or didn't you hear Ambellina say it just now?"

"You do it then, if you're so clever." Hermione rolls up her sleeve and flicks her wand.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_!" The feather in front of her floats four feet above her head and Professor Flitwick claps.

"Oh, well done! Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!" I smile at her and go back to helping Neville. He barely manages to get his feather an inch off the desk before class ends. As we all file out of the room, I pat him on the back.

"Keep working on it, Neville. You've just got to be more confident in yourself." He smiles slightly.

"It's no wonder Ambellina's the only one who can stand her. She's a nightmare, really." I hear Ron and spot Hermione run past him and Harry, knocking into Harry on the way. I watch her run off.

"I think she heard you." Ron shrugs.

"So? She must've noticed she's got no friends." I sigh and start ahead.

"See you later, Neville." I run after Hermione and hit Ron over the head on my way. I catch Hermione almost at the bathroom and follow her in. "Hermione?"

"Leave me alone, Bell." She slams into a stall and I walk over.

"Hermione, don't let what he said get to you." She sniffles.

"How can I not? He's right! You and Parvati are the only ones who talk to me. It's because I'm such a bookworm, isn't it?" I sigh and lean on the door.

"Hermione, that has nothing to do with it. Ron's just a stupid boy who doesn't appreciate knowledge. I think it scares him." I can tell she's crying. I was trying to cheer her up…

"Thanks for trying, Bell, but please…I want to be left alone." I sigh and start for the exit.

"Okay. But I'm coming back before the feast. And if I have to miss the feast to get you calm, I will." I leave the bathroom and head to my next class, where I sit with Parvati.

"Where's Hermione?" I sigh.

"In the bathroom, crying. She doesn't want to be disturbed." Parvati looks worried.

"What happened?" I shrug.

"Boys." I glance pointedly at Ron, sitting at the back of the room, and she nods knowingly.

"Ah." I laugh at her expression.

On the way up to the Great Hall, I turn towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" I look over my shoulder at Draco.

"To the bathroom to check on something. I'll be along in a minute." I head up to the bathroom and knock on Hermione's stall. "Hermione? Are you still upset?"

"Yes." I sigh.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She sniffles behind the door.

"No. You go on to the feast." I laugh slightly.

"No." I sit down in front of her stall. "I'm not leaving this bathroom without you, Hermione." She sniffles while I sit there. Suddenly, I hear a shuffling noise and smell this horrible combination of gym socks and the gym bathroom at my last school.

I spot a big shadow on the far wall and back into the corner. "Hermione. Something's outside the door." A giant…I think it's a troll, lumbers into the room and I cover my mouth to stifle a scream. The door slams shut behind it and I hear a lock click.

Hermione comes out of the stall just then, wiping away the last of her tears, looks over, and screams. The troll advances on us and I get up, pushing Hermione behind me as I pull out my wand. I use a defense spell and knock the troll back towards the wall by the door. It starts toward us again, knocking sinks off the wall on its way.

"We're dead." I shake my head.

"No. We'll be fine. We'll think of something." Or a staff member will find us and take care of the troll. I smile widely as the door comes open, but sigh and frown when it's only Harry and Ron that come in.

"Confuse it!" Ron runs around while Harry grabs a faucet and throws it against the wall, drawing the troll's attention.

"Oy, pea-brain!" Ron throws a metal pipe at the troll's shoulder, which doesn't phase it. But the yelling did. Harry scrambles around and grabs Hermione's wrist, trying to pull her forward. She won't move.

"Come on, run, _run_!" I shove her into Harry and move towards Ron when the Troll goes berserk and runs at him, roaring. I flick my wand.

"_Petrifa_!" The troll freezes for a moment, but not long enough. It runs at Ron again and Harry jumps onto its back. He shoves his wand up the troll's nose, making it howl in pain and twist, flailing its club around. Harry hangs on for dear life and I try to think of a spell. I glance over at Hermione, sunk to the floor in fright, and then at Ron. He's pulled his own wand out and flicks it.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_!" The club slips out of the troll's hand, rises almost to the ceiling, and then drops straight onto its owner's head, knocking the troll out cold. Harry picks himself up and Ron stares at what he did.

"Is it—dead?" I shake my head, but Harry answers first.

"I don't think so. I think it's just been knocked out." Harry pulls his wand out of the troll's nose and grimaces at the gray blue goo covering it. "Urgh—troll boogers." A slamming and running noise makes the four of us look up. The noise the troll was making drew attention! Stupid troll! Professors McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell, clamber into the room and Quirrell drops to a toilet, clutching his chest, at the sight of the troll. McGonagall looks plain pissed. Snape bends over the troll, checking it.

"What on earth were you thinking of?" Professor McGonagall glares at Harry and Ron. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?" Snape looks piercingly at Harry for a moment, making him look down. Ron seems too shocked to lower his wand. I sigh and lower it for him.

"Please, Professor McGonagall—they were looking for me." Hermione stands up and dusts herself off, the shock worn off.

"Miss Granger!"

"I went looking for the troll because I—I thought I could deal with it on my own—you know, because I've read all about them." Hermione's lying? "If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Harry stuck is wand up its nose, Ambellina even slowed it down with a petrification spell, and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived." I carefully make sure that I don't look like this tale isn't new to me. Hopefully, Ron and Harry are doing the same.

"Well—in that case…" Professor McGonagall stares at all four of us. "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?" Hermione hangs her head.

I can't believe she's pretending like she broke the rules to get the three of us out of trouble. "Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this. I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor Tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses."

Hermione leaves and McGonagall rounds on me, Ron, and Harry. "Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. And Miss Dumbledore, five points for Slytherin. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go." The three of us hurry out of the bathroom and I turn towards the dungeons. I hurry down to the dorm and get greeted by several worried classmates.

"Ambellina! What happened? Where were you?" I smile slightly.

"Fighting the troll." Everyone in earshot gasps and the entire room quiets.

"What?" So, I give them a revised version of the story, to fit in Hermione's excuse, so that if anyone were to be asked, they'd know this version of events. The moment I finish, the entire dorm cheers—probably because they want to assume that I did the majority of the work and bravery. I get the feeling that my housemates are trying to paint me as a perfect student. Boy are they wrong.


	16. Visiting Parents

**America's Witch 15- Visiting Parents…**

November. It's getting colder, and the Quidditch season is starting. Saturday is the first game. And Mom and Dad are going to be here on Friday night. They're staying in the hotel in Hogsmeade, the village where the train stops, and coming to the castle for breakfast on the day of the game. Draco's parents are doing the same. And then there's the fact that since Halloween, Hermione has been friends with Harry and Ron. This is fine with me, because I was already friends with all three of them.

"Are you ready for the game tomorrow?" I nod.

"Yea. You?" I look over at Harry. We're sitting on the grass by the lake, studying. He shrugs.

"I guess so." I smile slightly.

"So, your parents are coming?" I nod to Hermione.

"Yea. You guys have to meet them before the game!" Everyone in our group laughs and nods.

"Didn't your dad play for Gryffindor when he was here?" I nod.

"There's even a picture of the team when he was here. It's in the trophy room." Hermione stands up abruptly.

"Okay! Let's go see it." I laugh and the guys get up. I follow suit and the four of us head to the trophy room.

"To believe the last time we were in here, we were set up by Malfoy." I laugh slightly.

"Filch isn't around the corner, is he?" I flinch and look around, acting. The others laugh and I locate the picture that Flint showed me before. "Here it is." There are three trophies around the picture, and a plaque underneath it.

"Look at these names. Chaser Matthew Dumbledore, Chaser Sirius Black, Chaser Kimberly Wilkins, Beater Adriana Li, Beater Christina Mack, Keeper Harrietta Cripple, and Seeker James…Potter." Ron reads off the names and Harry gasps.

"Potter?" Harry gets closer to the picture to see and we spot a guy that looks a lot like Harry, waving comically beside a scraggly black haired guy who's got his arm around the chaser Kimberly's shoulders, grinning happily and punching my dad on the shoulder. The three trophies all have the same names on them. Matthew Dumbledore, on one for breaking the school record for most points scored in a season, and James Potter, his was for most consecutive catches of the Snitch. The last has both names on it, MVPs…for giving Gryffindor the most wins every year. They tied. Harry and I exchange a look and I shrug.

"I thought I'd find you here! Bell, I've gotten special permission from Professor Snape to go down to Hogsmeade with Professor Dumbledore to greet our parents!" I turn and look at Draco.

"That's great! I'll be right out. When are we leaving?" He smirks—probably for the benefit of my other friends.

"In a couple of minutes. Enough time to get out to the main hall and meet up with Professor Dumbledore." I nod and head for the door.

"See you guys later!" Draco and I head to the main hall and wait a minute for Professor Dumbledore. He comes in almost immediately and smiles at us.

"Ready to go?" We both nod and he leaves the room, heading outside. Draco and I hurry after him. We walk silently to a stable and I spot the strangest creatures in the field between the stable and the forest. I spot some strange looking horses and frown.

"What are those, Professor?" He looks at me, slightly surprised for some reason.

"Oh? You can see them?" I nod. "Thestrals. Who died?"

"When we were living in Dallas, I was walking with Mom to the library, it was right around the corner from our house, and we saw a car accident. There weren't any survivors. We found out, when the medics got them out of the car, that it was one of my classmates and her dad, who was a nurse at the hospital where Mom worked." He nods slowly.

"I see." Professor Dumbledore beckons me towards one of them and I hold up a hand to pet its snout when I get close enough. The skin is slightly leathery. The professor leads the Thestral I'm petting over to a carriage with me trailing beside it. He opens the door to the carriage and I get in. Draco follows and, after a moment, so does the professor.

The carriage takes us all the way to Hogsmeade and we get out at the edge of the town. We get out and go into town. "Let's see…Matthew and Amelia said that they would be arriving by the fountain. And Lucius and Narcissa are to arrive there as well."

We walk to a square, with a large fountain in the center. I spot white blond hair and then look around. "There are Lucius and Narcissa." I spot my parents and wave at them. "And Matthew and Amelia. Right on time." Mom runs over to me and picks me up in a hug.

"Bell! How's school? Tell me everything!" I laugh.

"Later, Mom." She laughs and puts me down. Dad walks over and shakes Professor Dumbledore's hand.

"Grandfather." The other two parents come over and Draco's mom acts similarly to mine, minus the picking up part. Dad turns to Draco's father and nods curtly. "Lucius."

"Matthew." I get the feeling they don't get along very well. Draco looks over at me and I shrug.

"Hello, Sissy."

"Hey, Matt. How's work going?"

"Good. Not much going on in America, but it's still not that hard to get stories in. Are you still working at…?"

"No. I haven't worked in thirteen years." I notice that Professor Dumbledore has vanished and sigh. "Is this your daughter?" Dad nods and the introductions start.

"Lucius, Sissy, this is my daughter, Ambellina. Bell, these are…" I smile.

"The Malfoys. I wasn't expecting to meet you until breakfast tomorrow."

"So you're Bell. Draco writes to us about you a lot." His mom winks at me and I glance at Draco, wondering what he's told them about me. Hopefully nothing along the lines of me being perfect or anything. It would be really bad if that's the opinion they've formed of me.

"And this is my wife, Amelia. I don't think that either of you have met her." Thanks for the subject change, Dad. "It looks like Grandfather left us to our own designs. What time is curfew nowadays?"

"Ten." Dad and the two Malfoys laugh at that.

"Same old rules. Let's go to the Three Broomsticks." We head down a road and I look around at all the buildings.

"We simply _must_ exchange addresses." I glance back at Mom and Narcissa Malfoy, who is nodding furiously—seems like those two are hitting it off... We get to an inn and go inside. We sit at a large table and I end up between Draco and Mom. Dad and Lucius discuss different things going on in the world while Mom and Narcissa get into deep conversation comparing normal and magical healing methods, and how sometimes Mom 'cheats' when she's working.

"It must be simply dreadful pretending like that. I would never be able to handle it." Mom smiles and shakes her head.

"It's not that bad. There isn't an official Wizarding hospital in America, and since I wanted to be a healer, well, couldn't quite abandon my family in America."

"Are your parents usually…this…animated?" I shrug.

"No. I sort of expected it from Dad, I mean, he went to school with your parents, I think, but Mom…" Mom gasps and looks at me, making me jump slightly.

"Oh! You have to tell me everything that's happened this term so far. Have you made any friends besides Draco?" I clear my throat.

"Yea, actually. The Weasleys, of course. A couple of girls in Gryffindor…my roommate Millicent…and…" I clear my throat nervously. "Harry Potter."

"Really? What house is he in? Gryffindor, I'd bet. I remember James was one of the best Seekers that Gryffindor had." Dad jumps in, excited.

"He's in Gryffindor. And, I'm not sure how much of it is just Fred and George exaggerating, he's supposed to be a pretty good Seeker. We'll find out tomorrow if Gryffindor manages to win." Lucius scoffs at that, but Dad just seems extremely interested.

"He's on the team?" I nod.

"As Seeker." Dad nods, like he's not surprised at that.

"And he's a first year as well?" I nod again.

"I have a lot of classes with him and Ron." And with that, I proceed to tell the parents at the table all of the events of this year, well, the major events. Draco, naturally, inputs his comments at certain moments—making sure to include that everyone in the house was extremely worried about me and mad that I didn't get more points for helping Ron and Harry with the Troll on Halloween.


	17. Quidditch Match

**America's Witch 16- Quidditch Match**

Saturday morning…the moment Draco and I leave the hall between the dorm and the great hall, I smell sausages. I sigh happily.

"It smells like Field Day…" Draco raises an eyebrow at the reference.

"Field Day?" I pause, forgetting for a moment that he's probably never seen that before.

"Oh. Back in my old schools, we'd have a day that we all spent outside, playing games and stuff. It smells like those days. There would be barbecue outside, and the only reason anyone would go inside would be to go to the bathroom." He laughs slightly.

"Sounds fun." We head into the great hall and to the Slytherin table. It's not difficult to spot Draco's dad sitting at the table with my parents across from him. Draco and I pause, trying to figure out how we're going to sit. "Um…I'm going to sit by Mom." I nod and we go on opposite sides of the table. I sit by Mom, and Draco sits by Narcissa.

"It's very strange, sitting at this table." I giggle at Dad's comment.

"Would you rather be sitting at Gryffindor, Dumbledore?" The question seems a bit aggressive, but playful at the same time. Seems like those two either made friends yesterday or they're just the kind of friends in the first place that argue a lot.

"So. Are you excited about the game, Ambellina?" I nod fervently.

"Very excited." Mom smiles.

"How are your studies going?" I start to answer, but my response is cut off.

"Are you kidding? She's already memorizing the books for fourth year in most of our classes." Pansy sits down beside me, and Millicent sits beside Dad. I sigh.

"My roommates, Pansy Parkinson, and Millicent Bullstrode." I finish eating and stand up. "Excuse me. I'm going to go ahead to the pitch." I leave the great hall and head down to the pitch. I forgot my broom again. Damn it.

I hurry back into the castle before I get too far and hurry down to the dorm. I grab my broom and head out to the pitch. I run a couple of laps around the pitch before heading into the locker room. It's almost time for the game. I go ahead and put on my emerald green robes and sit on a bench, stretching. Flint and the rest of the team come in and Flint goes into a pre-game speech while everyone changes. The door opens and Dad walks in.

"May I…cut in?" I smile slightly.

"Dad." Flint looks at Dad.

"Mr. Dumbledore. Welcome." Dad glances around, taking in the locker room.

"Hm…I've never been in the Slytherin locker room. I just wanted to wish you all luck before I found a seat." Flint nods slightly and shakes hands with Dad.

"Thank you sir." Dad leaves the room and I sigh when everyone turns to me.

"What?" Pucey scoots closer to me on the bench.

"That was your dad?" I nod and get up, checking the time.

"Yea. It's almost time for the game, are we gonna go out or not?" Flint nods once and turns for the door.

"Ambellina's right. Let's go." We all grab our brooms and head out to the field. Madam Hooch is waiting in the middle of the pitch. I think that she's the referee. We meet Gryffindor in the middle.

"Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you." She looks at Flint, like she's directing that mostly to him. I spot a banner in one of the stands that says Potter for President and almost laugh. That would probably be his roommates and Hermione's doing. "Mount your brooms, please." I get onto my Nimbus Two Thousand while the others do the same. Madam Hooch blows her silver whistle. We kick off the ground and rise into the air. The Quaffle is tossed in and one of the Gryffindor Chasers catches it.

"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor—what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too—" I know that voice…but I can't place it.

"JORDAN!" And that was Professor McGonagall…she's seriously loud.

"Sorry, Professor." I think that's Lee Jordan, one of Fred and George's friends. "And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve—back to Johnson and—no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle."

Flint gets the ball and we change directions, heading towards Wood at the Gryffindor goal post. "Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes—Flint flying like an eagle up there—he passes the ball to Dumbledore—she's the youngest Chaser in school history, and fast to boot." I catch the ball and duck a Bludger before going to score. "She's going to sc—no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle."

I lean forward on my broom to catch up with Katie Bell. "That's Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and—OUCH—that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger—Quaffle taken by the Slytherins—that's Adrian Pucey speeding off toward the goal posts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger—sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which—nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes—she's really flying—dodges a speeding Bludger—the goal posts are ahead—come on now, Angelina—Keeper Bletchley dives—misses—GRYFFINDORS SCORE!"

Cheers fill the air and I can hear moans from the Slytherin section. Pucey gets the ball and passes it to me. I dodge around the Gryffindor players. "Slytherin in possession. Chaser Dumbledore ducks two Bludgers, two Weasleys, and Chaser Bell, and speeds toward the—wait a moment—was that the Snitch?" I glance over my shoulder as something small and gold flies past my shoulder, but I manage to keep hold of the ball. Everyone stops to watch as Harry dives into the field after the Snitch, neck and neck with Terence Higgs, our Seeker. He's almost got it! Flint blocks Harry and sends him spinning off course.

"Foul!" Madam Hooch flies over to Flint and speaks to him angrily a moment before ordering a free shot at the goal posts for Gryffindor.

"Send him off, ref! Red card!" I laugh slightly, knowing that if this were soccer, Flint _would_ have been benched for that stunt.

"So—after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating—" Jordan is very biased…

"Jordan!" It's going to be a while just getting him on track with the announcements…oh well.

"I mean, after that open and revolting foul—"

"_Jordan, I'm warning you_—" Maybe that did it? I think it did.

"All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession." I follow Angelina, and then Katie, as the ball changes possession.

Finally, Flint gets the ball and passes it to me. "Slytherin in possession—Dumbledore with the Quaffle—passes Spinnet—passes Bell—dodges a bludger—passes the Quaffle back to Flint. He flies down the field—passing the other players—hit hard in the face by a bludger, hope it broke his nose—" Flint drops the ball and I catch it by flying quickly under him. "—only joking, Professor—Dumbledore gets the Quaffle—" I aim for the goal post that Wood isn't guarding well and it goes in. "—Slytherins score—oh no…"

Cheers erupt from the Slytherins and I look up to notice that Harry's broom looks like it's trying to buck him off. I look around the stands, trying to figure out what's going on. The game seems to pause again, giving me a reprieve. It doesn't take long for the other Slytherins to take advantage of the distraction. The Gryffindors are distracted by the situation with Harry's broom. Flint passes me the ball and we alternately score five times. No one cares. I give up on it and fly higher.

"Harry! What's going on?" It takes him a minute to answer with his broom attempting to throw him a good two hundred or more feet to his death.

"I dunno!" He falls off his broom and catches himself with his hands, holding on. I spot Fred and George, watching desperately.

"You two couldn't get him?" Both shake their heads.

"Every time we get close, the broom goes higher." I nod slowly.

"The only thing we can do is hope we can catch him if he falls off." I look down at the stands and spot two of the teachers staring up at us, not blinking at all. Professors Snape and Quirrell! But which is jinxing the broom and which is trying to help? Snape I could understand jinxing the broom, but Quirrell would have no reason to help Harry either. Just as suddenly as the broom started misbehaving, it stops and Harry is able to clamber onto his broom. I dive down to get back in the game. A gasp runs through the crowd and I spot Harry, diving towards the ground, covering his mouth with one hand and looking like he's about to be sick. He hits the field on all fours and coughs. I spot something glint in his hand.

"I've got the Snitch!" Well, that's that.

"He didn't _catch_ it, he nearly _swallowed_ it!" Flint argues the score as everyone starts for the ground.

"Gryffindor wins by one hundred seventy points to sixty! We won! This is the first match that Gryffindor has won in six years!" I land with everyone else and hurry out of the pitch after Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid. Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid had run onto the field and carried Harry out to Hagrid's hut almost immediately after the score was confirmed and the game ended.


	18. Accusations and Defenses

**America's Witch 17- Accusations and Defenses**

"It was Snape. Hermione and I saw him. He was cursing your broomstick, muttering, he wouldn't take his eyes off you." I glance at Ron and Hermione. Hagrid scoffs.

"Rubbish. Why would Snape do somethin' like that?" I nod.

"That's my question." Harry, Ron, and Hermione look at each other, trying to come up with something.

"I found out something about him. He tried to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it was guarding." Hagrid drops his teapot.

"How do you know about Fluffy?" What the heck kind of name is 'Fluffy'?

"_Fluffy_?" Harry nearly choked on his tea just then.

"Yea—he's mine—bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year—I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the—" Hagrid stops talking as though he's about to give us some sort of information that we're not supposed to have.

"Yes?" Harry asks the question eagerly. I'm wondering why they didn't tell me this. Oh. They probably figured that idea out while I was in Hogsmeade yesterday.

"Now, don't ask me anymore. That's top secret, that is." Hermione sighs exasperatedly.

"But Snape's trying to _steal_ it." Hagrid frowns.

"Rubbish. Snape's a Hogwarts teacher; he'd do nothin' of the sort." I nod in agreement.

"I agree. I don't like him much either, but I doubt that he'd try to steal anything. He's not that stupid." Hermione looks stunned that I'm actually defending my least favorite teacher.

"So why did he just try and kill Harry?" I start to say something, but Hermione continues without pause. "I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid; I've read all about them. You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all, I saw him!"

"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong! I don' know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now, listen to me, all three of yeh—yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel—" He cuts himself off again.

"Aha! So there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?" Hagrid looks furious with himself and I sigh.

"Snape wasn't the only teacher doing a spell down there. Quirrell was doing something as well. We can't just assume that it's Snape because none of us like him." Hermione and Ron both frown at that.

"And what reason would Quirrell have to go after anything or hurt Harry?" I hit my forehead.

"What reason would he have not to? You have to look at everything before you make an assumption." The door opens and I look back to see Dad poke his head in.

"Hagrid? Minerva said I could find Ambellina in here." All eyes turn to my dad and he blushes nervously—he hates being put on the spot about as much as I do most of the time.

"Matthew?" He nods.

"Yea. Can I come in?" Hagrid nods once.

"Sure. It's unlocked." Dad comes in and walks over.

"Good game, Harry. I haven't seen a catch like that since your dad's second to last game. He caught the Snitch almost the exact same way. We all had a great laugh after Slytherin got through wallowing about it." I sigh.

"Guys, this is my dad. Dad, these are my friends, Harry, Ron, and Hermione." Ron gasps.

"I know you! You're friends with my dad." Dad nods, smiling.

"You've gotten tall, Ron. Now, I saw what happened with your broom, Harry. Any idea what happened?" I nod.

"They think that Professor Snape was jinxing it." Dad frowns.

"Severus? I doubt that. He's an unpleasant man, but I don't think he'd be stupid enough to try to jinx a student's broom." I smile slightly.

"That's what I said." Dad laughs at that and decides to change the subject.

"Well, it's great to meet you all. Are the three of you planning to stay here for Christmas Holiday?" Harry and Ron nod, but Hermione shakes her head.

"I don't want to go home. My aunt and uncle are extremely unpleasant." Dad nods slowly, I think he understands that one.

"Percy's going home, and the house is going to be in chaos. I need a break from that." I can understand that, his family is insane.

"I'm going home, naturally. My parents aren't able to come here like most others, and I want to spend the holiday with them." Dad starts for the door.

"Okay. Bell, can I talk to you?" I leave the hut with Dad and we walk down the field.

"What's up, Dad?" He sighs.

"Your mom and I are going to your grandmother's house in Oklahoma. But we're taking a week longer than your vacation. Your mom mentioned it at breakfast after you left for the game, and Lucius and Narcissa insisted that you go to their house for the holiday." I smile.

"That sounds great. When are you and Mom going home?" He frowns, like he's upset.

"Later today. We've got permission from Grandfather to take you into Hogsmeade for lunch." I nod once.

"Okay. Let me go change and I'll be right out." I head inside and head down to the dorm. It doesn't look like many people have come in from the game. I get to the dorm, say the password, and run to my room. I change into a skirt and corset with my leggings and underskirts and a striped, long sleeved shirt. My color scheme today is already silver and green, so I stick to that, wearing my silver and green striped scarf that I got at the beginning of the school year when I was sorted. I head out and meet up with Mom and Dad on the grounds.

"So, my Dad said that your parents invited me over for Christmas Holiday." Draco smiles slightly.

"Yea. Mom and Amelia really hit it off. But I don't think that Dad…" I nod once.

"Gets along with my dad?" Draco nods and I shrug. "That's not surprising really…I mean, I don't think that _any_ Gryffindors and Slytherins usually get along."

"Well, I guess you're an exception to that. And Mum seemed to like your dad all right." We walk down the hall to the dorm and when we get there, I get greeted by a sort of celebration. You'd think that all of Slytherin would be down about the game.

"Great game, Ambellina. You got in some nice shots." I blush slightly, embarrassed.

"Too bad Potter didn't get sorted in with us. We'd have a Snitch swallowing Seeker!" Everyone laughs at that and I sigh.

"Thanks for the encouragement." I head to my room and I hear walking behind me. I go into the room and pull out my computer. I look over at the door when it opens and then look back at my screen while it's loading. Millicent is standing at the door. I'm not complaining though. This is her room too.

"Is something wrong, Bell?" I shrug.

"Not really. I just don't want to be around anyone right now. I'm not even turning on my messenger." Millicent sits on my bed and watches me.

"Are you worried about Potter's broom?" I shrug.

"Not really. But I don't want to talk about it." And with that, I ignore her presence and work on a story. After a few moments, she gets up and leaves the room. I readjust so that I'm hidden behind the curtains of my bed and my lamp is providing me with light in the dark space.


	19. Assessment

**America's Witch 18- Assessment…**

Ah, cold weather. It's worse here than it was in Boston! On the bright side, the Slytherin dorm is well heated. The potions classroom, however, is not.

"Two more days until school lets out. Are you going home?" I shake my head. Hermione and I are huddled at the back of the room with Ron and Harry.

"No. My parents are going to Oklahoma for Christmas, and then they're taking Mom's vacation time to go somewhere." Harry and Ron light up.

"So you're staying here?" I shake my head.

"No. I'm going to Draco's. The Malfoy Manor." Hermione looks totally shocked.

"Malfoy's a jerk! You can't seriously…" I sigh.

"He's only like that when there are a lot of people around." She frowns and starts to say something, but Harry cuts her off.

"And that's what counts. Bell, you're not…" I hold up a hand.

"I have a good sense of things. I can tell when someone's pretending to be who they aren't really." The rest of our class arrives, so we split up to sit at our usual desks.

"Are you cold?" I look at Draco and nod once.

"Of course. It's colder than I've ever dealt with." He frowns at that.

"Here." Draco pulls his scarf off and hands it to me. I push it back towards him.

"Draco. Then you'll get cold." He shrugs and grabs the scarf, putting it around my neck.

"It's not that bad." The class starts and once we get the cauldrons over fire, everyone starts huddling as close to the flames as they can get. "Any of your friends going home for the holiday?"

"Hermione is. But Ron and Harry aren't. They don't want to go home."

"Or is it that they're not wanted?" I glare at Draco.

"They don't want to go. Ron's parents and Percy are going to Romania, and he didn't want to be home alone with Fred and George. And Harry doesn't like his aunt and uncle." He smirks.

"I do feel sorry for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home." Draco looks over at Harry as he says that loud enough for the whole class to see and I kick his shin. "Ow."

"You're such a jerk sometimes." I fume for the rest of class.

When we leave Potions, I spot a giant fir blocking the hall. I spot the big feet behind it and recognize Hagrid's voice, panting behind the tree. I spot Ron by the tree, his head in the branches. Draco comes out of the classroom and touches my shoulder. I shrug him off and start forward.

"Dumbledore! Come in here." I look at the door to the classroom and Professor Snape motions me in. I sigh and go inside.

"Sir?" He hands me a paper. "The last assignment. What about it?"

"You realize that you're the only student in your year that made a perfect score on it? You've made perfect scores on all of your assignments." I hesitate.

"Well, Draco has…" Snape cuts me off.

"I'm talking about homework assignments. And I've noticed that you're the one doing most of the work at your workspace. You have this afternoon free. Come back down to my office. I want to give you an assessment. Perhaps, after break, you'll be in advanced potions." I blush at the praise.

"Well, I had scheduled some study time with some of my classmates…but I can come down." Professor Snape smiles slightly. I don't really trust this…but oh well.

"Good. Go on upstairs." I nod and hurry out of the room. I head up to the main hall and spot Ron and Draco about to get into a fight. Snape comes up right behind me. "WEASLEY!" I jump and get away from him.

"He was provoked, Professor Snape." Hagrid pokes his head through the branches of the tree he's carrying. "Malfoy was insultin' his family."

"Be that as it may, fighting is against Hogwarts rules, Hagrid. Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley, and be grateful it isn't more. Move along, all of you." I hurry over to Ron and watch him.

"Are you okay?" He frowns, glaring after Draco and the two nimrods.

"Your boyfriend's leaving." I watch Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle walk off, shoving the tree and scattering needles.

"He's such a jerk. What did he say?" Ron scoffs.

"You don't want to know. Or maybe you can go ask him yourself?" I lift my hand to smack Ron, but stop right before I connect.

"Can you just stop that?" I walk into the Great Hall and sit down in my usual spot at the Slytherin table. I spot Harry, Ron, and Hermione talking to Hagrid and they spot me when they turn to leave. Hermione walks over to me and smiles slightly.

"Bell. Can you help us with research? I know we were going to study, but there's something more important." I sigh.

"You're looking for information on Nicolas Flamel, right?" She nods. "I've got a meeting with Professor Snape this afternoon. And I've got some stories to post online before lunch." Ron walks over.

"Sorry about earlier." He shrugs.

"He behaves better around you for some reason." I laugh slightly.

"Because I beat him up." Ron sighs.

"Man, it must be cool to be exempt from most of the rules because of your grandfather." I shake my head.

"I'm not exempt from the rules. Snape just doesn't care if it's me. I guess he's afraid he'll lose his job or something. Oh. Hermione did my mom and dad get your address when they were here for the game?"

"Yes. Do you have the address at the Malfoy's?"

"No. I'll ask Draco later and give it to you before you leave tomorrow on the train." With that, the three of them leave and I pull my computer out.

"Have a seat." I sit down at my usual desk and Professor Snape hands me a paper. "This is the third year final exam. Take as long as you need on it." I pull out my pen and answer the questions easily. Fifteen minutes later, I hand the paper back to Snape.

"Isn't there a practical?" He nods, still in shock by how quickly I finished it.

"Yes…from memory, make a Wolfsbane potion." I nod and get up to gather the ingredients. I make the potion and Snape watches me carefully. It turns out perfect and Snape stares at me in shock. "I'll review this and speak with you after the holiday." I nod and leave the classroom. I hurry to the dorm and put my school bag up. I work on finishing packing and then head up to dinner at five. I sit beside Draco and across from Crabbe and Goyle, as always, and look at Draco.

"Do you think your parents would mind if Hermione sent my Christmas present there?" He shrugs.

"I don't think so. Do you need to give her the address?" I nod and he reaches into his school bag.

"Were you studying all afternoon?" He shrugs and gets a piece of parchment and his quill out.

"Yea. It was a solo effort, because those two idiots couldn't understand any of it. How'd your test go?" I shrug.

"Snape gave me the third year final. I finished the written in fifteen minutes, and the practical perfectly." Draco raises an eyebrow.

"What was the practical?" I sigh.

"I had to make a Wolfsbane potion from memory." He pauses, slightly shocked for a moment.

"Wow…" Draco writes his address down on a piece of parchment and I turn around in my seat. Fred's sitting behind me, with Ron, Harry, and Hermione a couple of people down the table.

"Hey Fred. Can you pass this down to Hermione?" He turns around and nods once.

"Sure. You still going to the Malfoys?" I nod.

"Yea." He laughs slightly.

"I'll tell Mum. She might drop by before they head to Romania Sunday." I raise an eyebrow.

"What?" Fred chuckles.

"You didn't know? The Malfoys live just over the hill from us." I shake my head and turn around. I look at Draco and he shrugs.

"That house looks like it's about to topple over." And with that, we eat dinner.


	20. Notice

Sorry everyone! This account will be down until further notice. No updates, and no new stories. Too much going on with work and school and such. And as I'm going to start working on having a still shot for each chapter, I'll probably move completely to DeviantArt. Not that anyone really cares…

For those of you that DO care, though, please don't stop writing reviews of both my original versions and the rewrites I've already posted. Also, I still don't have access to all of my original stories.

. . .

Another thing! I haven't been all that active lately for a very good reason besides focusing on my future as an animator. Remember a few months ago when this very site threatened to remove any stories containing 'mature' content from blood and guts to sex? It's happening again, except with a group of people who are HARRASSING our treasured authors who dare to step into 18+ content!

Please, we have to take a stand against this infringement of our rights! Mine is shutting down my stories. Until either this site adds a 'mature content warning' like used on DeviantArt and SmackJeeves, or I have my personal website with fiction rights set up, I will not be posting here.

If anyone likes, I can put new versions of the stories I've got an acceptable amount of rewriting done on in my gallery on DeviantArt.

. . .

Thank you, anyone who has been following me and favoriting my work. And for new readers who have anything to say, please review with your opinions. But please, any and all requests—whether for a storyline, chapter in a story, or anything else of that nature—please PM me. If you don't have an account on this site, but have an account on either DeviantArt or SmackJeeves, you're welcome to message me there. My ID on DeviantArt is nakirareneetaisho, and on SmackJeeves it's nakirereneetaisho. I'd put links, but they tend not to work…just make sure if you use one of those other sites to message me, you put something including the name of this site, the story you wish to speak to me in regards to—if applicable—and the name you used in a review, also if applicable, in the subject line.


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